Just Your Normal High School Clique
by Sirens in the water
Summary: The Amis are a well known group at Corinth High, and like every clique, they have their issues. Marius is selfish, Enjolras is over it all, and what secret is Eponine keeping? Will the Amis last the year? Can they survive the challenges of friendship mingling with love? Eponine and Enjolras; Cosette and Marius; Joly and 'Chetta; Feuilly and OC
1. Chapter 1

**So hi! This is my second Les Miserables story. I know this has been done a hundred thousand times before, but I wanted to try. So yeah. If no one likes it I will stop. **

**Disclaimer: Les Miserables doesn't belong to me it belongs to the amazing genius Victor Hugo. This goes for all chapters.**

"EPONINE!" Enjolras lifted his head out of his book as he heard his best friend's name called by Marius Pontmercy. The girl in question looked up from her sketch of the blond man across from her reading his book. She felt her heart beat faster as her crush approached the table of the Les Amis as everyone called them. There was Enjolras, their passionate leader, Combeferre, the cool voice of wisdom, Courfeyrac, Grantaire, the drunk skeptic, Joly, the sweet hypochondriac, Jehan, the dreamer, Bahorel, the brawn, Bossuet, the unluckiest man on the planet, Feuilly, the artist, Marius, who didn't know who he was, and Eponine rounded off the group as the little sister figure who was there for everyone. All the other Amis quit their conversations as the freckled face boy ran up to the table.

"Five bucks says it is about that girl he met, whatever her name was." Courfeyrac backed out of the bet because there was a good chance he would lose. And he would have.

"Eponine, do you know her name? Did you find it out yet?" Enjolras watched as hurt and pain flooded the tiny girl's coffee colored eyes. She looked at the table and mumbled what sounded like,

"Yea, Colette." Marius' eyes lit up with love and adoration. His face adopted a dreamy expression. Everyone at the table looked to Eponine who was back working on her sketch, avoiding everyone's gazes. Only Marius was blind to Eponine's love for him, which gave Enjolras another reason not to like the freckle faced youth along with his disorganization, absentmindedness, and sometimes conceitedness. But it pained all of the Amis to see Eponine so down, and they couldn't beat up Marius for hurting 'Ponine without jeopardizing their friendship with the petite girl.

"Colette! I shall write her a letter! Oh, 'Ponine, you are the best ever! I'll see you all later!" Enjolras watched the blind boy practically floated away because of his happiness disgustedly. Grantaire put a hand on the poor girl's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"Eponine, Marius is an idiot; we've known that for a long time now. He is stupid." Eponine looked up with a forced grin on her face.

"Obviously. I mean he is in all of Cosette's classes. He should know her name." Joly turned to Eponine.

"Wait, her name is Cosette?"

"Yea, I told you guys." The entire table burst into laughter. Marius was going to look like quite the idiot. It took a whole two minutes for everyone to stop laughing, all the while with Eponine demanding what was so funny. Finally, Courfeyrac was able to gasp out,

"He...He thought her...name..was...Colette." With that, the laughter rebounded. Only Enjolras saw Eponine's look of panic.

"He thought I said Colette?!" She looked to Enjolras as he nodded. "Merde!" This exclamation caused the laughter to subside. Grantaire huffed,

"We don't all speak French, Eppy."

"Merde means shit," supplied Combeferre. A general murmur of understanding rose up from the confused party. Enjolras glared at his friends inconsideration for Eponine's obvious despair over the situation.

"I'll text Marius her real name," he said gently, then turned to everyone and commanded, "We are all going to pretend that we heard Eponine say her name was Cosette and then realized he thought her name was Colette."

"Why don't we just let him make a mistake? It would be very amusing," suggested Grantaire. This was met with several 'yea's and 'why not's, which out voted the two 'no's from Eponine and Enjolras.

"I'll take that!" And with that, Grantaire pocketed their fearless leader's phone. Eponine dropped her head into her hands with Enjolras rubbing her back comfortingly like a _good _friend, unlike Marius. Enjolras didn't understand how she could like that immature...boy. He was so blind and selfish. He didn't care about Eponine's feelings, which was obvious whenever he commented on her clothes (it usually was something along the lines of why didn't she wear more color or why didn't her clothes fit right). It hurt Enjolras to hear Marius say things like that almost as much as it hurt Eponine. She was his best friend, and they only one who knew about his family ( they traded back stories once, but that is another story). She was brave, kind, intelligent, beautiful and all around an amazing girl; Marius was an idiot not to want her.

Eponine's hiss of pain drew the attention of everyone when Enjolras rubbed a bruise on her back.

"Ponine, are you alright?" Madeleine, Feuilly's girlfriend who had sat down during the argument over what to do about Colette, inquired. The light brown haired and hazel eyed girl was one of the honorary Amis along with Gavroche, Eponine's brother, and Chetta, Joly's girlfriend whose real name no one could pronounce.

"I'm fine, just a bit sore from work last night." What a lie. Enjolras knew that last night had been particularly rough for Eponine because she had called him, crying, asking what could be used as substitutes for bandages at three a.m. in the morning. That morning he had given her more band-aids before class, the big kind. Nothing less would help in her case. These barely made a difference.

The bell rang, saving Eponine the trouble of more questions from the boys. The Amis parted to all their different classes, leaving Enjolras and Eponine alone.

"Are you alright?"

"I've had worse."

"Are you going over to Grantaire's tomorrow night? we all want you there."

"I don't know, maybe."

A pause, then,

"You know I worry about you."

"Don't. I don't matter enough."

"Eponine..."

"See you later, 'Ras." And with that she left Enjolras on his own, wishing she would come back.

"Oh 'Ponine..."

**And what do you think? Please tell me!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! You guys are great! I didn't expect that many reviews! Thank you all so much! On with the story.**

**Chapter two: Promise of a Lifetime**

The night was black, with only the twinkle of the stars so distant to relieve the total blackness. Every star seemed so far away, but they were the only company of the scrawny, dark haired girl as she walked slowly through the lonely streets of the slums. It was too cold for anyone to be out, and yet, there she was walking like a defeated soldier back from the lost war. Her feet carried her body slowly, dragging with each step forward.

From a distance, she looked broken. Up close, she looked dead. Her eyes looked to the broken road below her feet with out seeing it. Cracks ran up and down, connecting like a web, a delicate lace of hurt and pain not unlike the one that covered her heart. Each breath stabbed her chest with new pain. Marius. Marius. Marius.

He didn't love her, didn't care about her. He liked darling Cosette who was beautiful, perfect, and rich. She had the clothes, the perfect skin, and the money. On top of that, she was a genuinely nice person. It wasn't hard to understand why Marius liked Cosette. But that didn't take away the pain from the heart break she felt.

No matter how hard she tried, Eponine couldn't hate Cosette. It was only fair, she supposed, that Cosette should get the one thing Eponine wanted after how she had been treated when they were children. It was karma; it was only fair.

"Why God? He...he...he means...every- a lot to me. Why do I have to give him up as well?" Tears fell to the ground as the desperate plea flew to heaven, begging to be heard. Despite everything that had happened to her, Eponine still believed God would help her. He had been merciful to her before, so why not again? He was the only thing in her life that was constant; even Marius was a bit flighty. God and Enjolras were the only people Eponine knew she could count on. After that, all bets were off.

At last, Eponine arrived at her "home". The instant she stepped inside the two bedroom apartment, the smell of smoke overwhelmed her, making her senses reel. For a second, she was positive that the grips of unconsciousness would pull her under, but they were shaken off by a slap to the cheek. Eponine fell to the ground to receive a kick to her ribs.

"Where was you, girly?" Her father spat in her ear. Thenradier was a terrible man. He was wanted by the FBI for murder of officers, stealing, child abuse, rape, and human enslavement. This man sold two of his sons to a random woman, raped his wife, then forced her to marry him, and he beat Eponine on a regular basis. Gavroche lived with an elderly couple in a better part of the city, so Eponine didn't worry about him getting beaten up, and over her dead body would she allow her father -if you could call him that- to hurt Azelma.

" I asked you a question. Where. Were. You?" With each word, he gave her a kick in the side. Tears ran silently down the beaten girl's cheeks. The pain was blinding, all encompassing, and it penetrated every pore of her being. Blood dripped from her lip, which he was biting in order to avoid crying out. Her father would not the satisfaction of hearing her scream.

With every kick, Eponine couldn't help but wonder if she was going to be able to keep her promise to Enjolras. It hurt so bad. She didn't see how she would be able to get up afterward. Finally, she heard something crack. It had been her wrist, which was protecting her ribs. She felt the bones snap and shatter. This coaxed a scream from her.

"Shut up, whore." The kicks stopped, and Eponine drew a breath that was forced from her lungs as a belt came down on her back. This time the scream came forth in a rush of words.

"Lord in heaven, be merciful!"Thenardier heard this and laughed.

"He doesn't care about a slut like you. You are nothing." Not true, Eponine thought. God loves me. He even loves you, father. I am asking his mercy on your judgment and mine. This may be my last hour, and I am sorry for everything I've done. My only regret is I never came clean with the Amis. I wonder if they will miss me. The next blow of the belt pushed the despairing girl into the dark oblivion.

Line break

Enjolras paced is bedroom floor. It was late. Almost four in the morning. She should have called by now. It had never been this long. Never. Anxiety ripped through the marble man's chest.

Lord, please let her be alive. Please. This was the only prayer that seemed to come from Enjolras these days. She was the only thing that mattered to him now. His family hated him and many people thought he had no emotions. She was the only one there for him every time he fell apart. She was his whole world.

Eponine meant more than she would ever know to him. She was his best friend. She knew things about him the others could only guess, and he knew things about her Marius didn't even know. They were like ice cream and fudge, salt and pepper. Without the other, the one was always incomplete. They needed each other and supported each other in every time of need. If you wanted to find Eponine looked for Enjolras and vice versa. Together they were whole, and they would not be forced apart by anything. Not even death.

The clock read 4:01 a.m. The numbers seemed to be mocking him. Time was slowly ticking away. He didn't how much longer he could take not knowing her fate. The blond boy stared up at the stars above his head. Each one meant something different, Eponine had told him. The North Star represented love because love was many people's compass. Sirius meant logic because it shined so bright and clear, like logic. Each star was special in a way, like each person, and every person had a star.

"Which one is me?" he had asked her.

"The North Star because you lead everyone else like the North Star."

"And you?" She gave him a smile and pointed to a tiny star that barely shined.

"That's me, out shined and small. But it still adds beauty to the sky." The memory was sweet as well as painful. It hurt to think that Eponine thought of herself like that. When he had tried to contradict her, she told him it would shine brighter when she died because she would help it light up the sky.

"Oh 'Ponine, please don't light up that star tonight." To Enjolras' relief, the star was as tiny as ever. He knew it was a stupid hope, but when she didn't call and say she was alive, it was all he had.

He had made her promise to call him every night, so he would know she was alive after they had exchanged stories. He had even given her a phone so she could call. She promised. The Promise of her lifetime. The promise of her life.

Suddenly, his phone rang with the song "Promise of a Lifetime' by Kutless. It was their song. Racing over, he answered the phone. Eponine's soft voice came through.

"Enjolras..."

"Oh Eponine! I was so worried. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just a broken wrist." The boy looked at the clock again. 4:45.

"Okay, meet me at the Seven Eleven on fifth." She was going to the hospital whether she liked it or not.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you all so much for your reviews! It means a lot to know you guys like it. On with the story!**

**Chapter 3: Darkest before Dawn**

It has been said the night is darkest before dawn. It is assumed that the inky blackness gets darker before the first light of a new day, a new hope. All the stars are going to sleep, disappearing one by one, taking their light with them. It is said there is only the black abyss above and you. Enjolras found this to be true.

The cool, misty air put shivers on his spine as he waited. He felt truly alone. The harsh light of the gas station blocked out all the fading stars, cutting him off from any link he had to Eponine. What if she didn't come? What if she was caught on the way out? What if she couldn't move? What if she had collapsed in the street? What then?

Enjolras knew no one would look for her. Only he would, but no one cared about his opinion anyways. Everyone thought it was stupid or embarrassing. Only Eponine put up with his crazy idea that everyone was the same. Sure, he knew everyone was different, but they were all people. What did it matter who was richer or prettier or black or white or gay or straight? What did it matter? Deep down everyone was the same, a human being.

His rich and well off family couldn't believe he could harbor such thoughts or have friends like 'Ponine. His father didn't think it proper to mingle with the less fortunate or poor people as Enjolras so bluntly pointed out. The pair always argued. Each to his own versus everyone is the same and should be treated like equals. One night Enjolras just walked out. He lived in an apartment ten miles from his family's house; his mother insisted.

He knew that his father was ashamed of him, but Enjolras couldn't care less. It wasn't his life's dream to please his father, and if it had been then he never would have met the Amis. He never would have met 'Ponine, and a life without her was unimaginable.

The blond marble man looked around, waiting anxiously for his friend to arrive. Seconds turned into minutes which slowly dragged on. The left foot's incessant tapping ceased as a tiny figure emerged from the shadows. It was 'Ponine, and she looked terrible.

She had a bruise on her cheek, and blood stained her white shirt. Her dark hair held glimmering streaks of the red substance, and it ran down her arms. On her left wrist was a cast made from ace bandages, painter sticks, and pillow guts. Her posture spoke of defeat and immense pain. On her back was her book bag used for school since they were in eight grade. Lips parted weakly in a smile.

"Eponine!" The exclamation ripped from the lips of the blond boy, parted in disbelief. He ran over and gently looked at her arms and wrist. She watched his fingers ghost over the surface of her bloody skin.

" Mornin' 'Ras." Her voice was tight and raw with pain.

"Eponine! Did you set your wrist?" The icy blue eyes of her best friend locked on her warm brown ones, that shifted to the ground.

"Maaaaaayyyybe." A huff let Eponine know Enjolras wasn't pleased with her actions. Oh damn well. He'd get over it.

"That's what hospitals are for, dummy." His voice was thick with concern and something else... affection perhaps? Eponine quickly pushed that thought aside. Enjolras gingerly inspected her wrist, not seeing any flaws in her setting of the broken bone, but what did he know about that sort of thing?

"'Ras, you know I can't afford hospital bills."

"I know, but I can." Eponine jerked away, irritating her ribs a bit. Enjolras looked at her with puzzlement.

"Enjolras," Ouch, the full name, " you can't pay for everything I need! I'm not a charity case!" The boy under chastisement gently turned the petite girl to look him in the eye. Her brown eyes held a fire of fury not really directed at the golden boy. After their gazes locked, he said in a tender voice,

"I know, but you are my friend, and I am want to help you Eponine. Remember the poem? You are my sun/ You are my moon/ You are my day/ You are my night/ You are my air and water/ My sky and land/ You are my hope and happiness/ My joy and laughter/ You are the good days and bad/ You are my heart break and mend/ You are my world and my everything/ But best of all..." She picked up the last bit.

"You are my friend."

"That's right. You are my best friend 'Ponine, and I will do everything I can for you. Okay?" She smiled at her friend's concern.

"Okay." Enjolras returned the smile and pulled her into a protective embrace. Eponine didn't hesitate to wrapped her arms around his torso. They stayed like that for a few seconds longer than appropriate for friends just holding each other until Eponine jerked away and doubled over as her stomach tried to eat itself. Enjolras leaned down to support the hurt girl and noticed her clutching her stomach.

"'Ponine, when was the last time you ate?" she straightened up and considered the question.

"Today is Friday sooooooo," she counted on her fingers, "hey, Monday! Not that long ago." Enjolras, asking no questions only giving her a glare, dragged her gently to his apartment four blocks away. Ignoring her inquiries, he unlocked his apartment and pushed her in, not forcefully mind you. Eponine whirled around with her hands on her hips. Oh no.

"What the heck, Enjolras!" Yikes, twice in one hour. The blond didn't say anything, just steered her to the kitchen table and made her sit. Then he got her a lot of fruit, a yogurt, and a bowl of cereal. As he finished pouring the milk, he said,

"You are going to sit and eat until that plate is clean, missy. Stay here and don't move until you are done." He started to walk away, then, "And don't throw it out." Enjolras knew Eponine was probably giving him the bird, but he didn't care. She would eat it all. He knew that. Quickly, Enjolras looked around his room until he found the bag he was looking for. It was carried back to the kitchen with him.

Eponine looked up from her meal, curious to what he had in the bag. With a flourish, Enjolras produced a black, long sleeved shirt, a pair of jeans, and a red pea coat not unlike his own red jacket.

"I found these at Walmart when I was buying food the other day, so I decided to get them in case of emergency. Also I have a pair of pajamas, a sweater, a few more shirts, but those are short sleeved, a pair of shorts, some feminine stuff, and some other feminine stuff. Oh, and this hat and these glovess. And this book bag." The hat and gloves were both black and the book bag was a light yellow and pale green with a touch of lavender. But they didn't come from Walmart.

Enjolras had went out one day and got them at various stores, ignoring the stares that came with getting bras and tampons. If anyone asked, they were for his mother who was sick and couldn't buy them herself. That usually shut everyone up. He had also got a skirt, nice blouse, a couple pairs of shoes,and a bunch more shirts than her was letting on.

"Enjolras..." Three strikes and you're out. Eponine gave him a despairing look, but before she could say more the blond spoke up.

"Don't think of it was charity. How about a birthday present for the thirteen times I missed it." The brunette gave hi a pointed look.

"I didn't know you until we were thirteen!" Enjolras stuck his tongue out playfully.

"Can't I do something nice for my favorite girl?"

"Hmmm...no." He had the grace to look offended.

"Oh come on 'Ponine, please?" Eponine rolled her eyes with a smile planted on her face.

"Alright fine." Enjolras ran around in circles yelling 'Victory! Victory!' making the girl laugh at his antics. Her laughter elicited a smile to Enjolras' usually stony face. Hence the name marble man. He was glad Eponine was happy. She hadn't laughed for a long time.

After she ate, she washed up a bit in the bathroom (cleaning her face, washing her hair, etc.). It was hard to do with a 'cast', but she was tough. The tiny girl slipped on her new clothes, which surprisingly fit correctly for the most part, and walked out. Enjolras wordlessly handed her a pair of Converse. Eponine raised an eye brow at him.

"Found them in the back of my closet. Probably from when I moved in." Eponine knew it was a lie because they were women's shoes, but she let it go anyways. They walked out the door and began the walk to school. It was quiet until Eponine, being the observant girl she was, pointed something out.

"We match." It was true. They both had a red coat, black top, and jeans.

"Oh well." Eponine looked at her friend, almost accusatory.

"Did you plan this?" Her only response was a smile.

**Yay! Another chapter! Tell me what you think. It should pick up quickly with Grantaire's party coming up.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi! So I am updating again. I am still on Spring break so when I get back into school, I will only update about twice a week. Sorry! I am going to try to make a lot of progress before then. On with the story!**

**Chapter 4: A play date with alcohol**

"I think this is a bad idea." Eponine addressed her best friend as they pulled up to Grantaire's mansion. The party was for the Amis only, so it was more along the lines of a play date with alcohol. Not like Enjolras or Eponine were going to drink any, but others would.

Many of their friends were already there, cars clogging up the driveway. There was no way to get closer to the front door, so Enjolras parked his red convertible back a ways from the entry way.

"Come on, Eps. It will be fine. It's just going to be the Amis. You'll be fine." The dark haired girl glared at her friend who smiled innocently in return.

"First off, don't call me Eps." She was interrupted by,

"But everyone calls you 'Ponine. It isn't special."

"Second off, I'm not worried about the Amis. I scared of Marius. I know he talked to her, and she got offended he didn't know her name properly. Something or another about it being an insult and if you are going to hit on a girl you should know her name blah blah blah." The frightened girl started to finger her cast nervously. A warm, solid hand touched the top of her cold, tiny hand to cease its fiddling. Blue met brown in a comforting gesture.

"Eponine, don't worry about Marius; he's a big boy. He will understand his blunder, and if he blames it on you, I don't think I will be the only one not happy with him." A smile was exchanged before the pair slid out of the car. They started up the walk to the huge french doors and knocked when they reached their destination. A drunk Grantaire (surprise surprise) opened the door. The white tile floors gleamed brightly under the lights of the chandelier overhead.

"Heeeeeyyyy! You guyss made it!" The drunk boy slurred his words and staggered around, ushering them in. "We're alll in the basement!" Sighing, Enjolras supported Grantaire as the made their way down the stairs into the basement. They were a sight to see.

Joly and 'Chetta were curled up on one couch, seemingly sober, content to be together. Feuilly, Madeleine, Combeferre, Jehan, and Courfeyrac were all sitting on the floor in the middle of the circle of chairs and couches. Bahorel and Bossuet were having an arm wrestle on the coffee table with everyone taking side and cheering on, but many were cheering for Bahorel as he was going to win.

"Thanks for the support, guys!" shouted Bossuet, a sheer layer of sweat on his brow. Laughter filled the air of the cozy basement. Smiles and laughter were a sign of the overwhelming happiness of the group. The only sullen face was that of Marius'. As Eponine caught his eye, he gave her a glare. The toy-like girl pressed back into the marble statue, as if to reassure herself someone was there for her.

Enjolras noticed this and gently took her right hand in his to confirm he was there for her. A squeeze let him know she was thankful.

"Eppy!" 'Chetta untangled herself from her boyfriend and bounded over. Her red, curly hair bounced behind her. The enthusiastic ginger hugged Eponine gently. It was an unspoken rule; you don't hug Eponine too tightly. The Thenradier girl returned the hug gently. 'Chetta pulled away, chatting on about pointless things.

"I don't understand how you can handle being the only girl around on a daily basis. They are all so childish. It is like," Eponine broke in.

"Being surrounded by preschoolers?"

"Exactly!" The two girls giggled at the boys expense. Grantaire pulled Enjolras to sit on the couch next to Eponine and 'Chetta. Soon the group was at ease, laughing as Bossuet kept tying to beat Bahorel in an arm wrestle. But Marius was still quite irritated with the whole Colette Cosette fiasco. He kept steadily glaring at Eponine.

Once she caught his gaze. Enjolras noticed and pulled her close to him and returned Marius' glare. Madeleine, who had only been dating Feuilly for a few weeks, noticed and asked her artistic boyfriend,

"I thought you said Enjolras was a marble man with no feelings for anyone. He seems to be very cozy with Eponine." Feuilly wrapped his arm around the hazel eyed girl's shoulders, pulling her in.

"He is, most of the time. He isn't one to let emotions cloud his judgment or control his actions. He can be very harsh and unforgiving sometimes, but never to Eponine." Courfeyrac caught wind of this conversation and said,

"Eponine is his kryptonite. He will turn from marble to man in a second for her. She means the world to him, and I get a feeling there is something else going on between the two of them." Combeferre scooted closer.

"Like boyfriend girlfriend?" asked Madeleine. Combeferre added his two cents.

"No, something deeper. I believe they know things about each other that we could only guess, and this connects them in a deeper way." Jehan leaned down from the chair he had moved to that was right above this conversation.

"I believe they have been destined to be together since the dawn of time. Their fates have been intertwined since the beginning of love. They are soul mates, their love decided a long time ago." At this point Marius decided to confront Eponine.

"Eponine can I talk to you for a second?" Fearfully, the girl left the protective bubble of Enjolras' embrace. It felt cold away from him, but the Thenradier brushed it off. Two pairs of eyes followed them, Enjolras' and Courfeyrac's. Both were concerned about Eponine's well being. Enjolras because he was worried about harsh words, but Courfeyrac knew Marius had been drinking, and if things started to heat up, he had a diversion, truth or dare. Both boys were ready to protect the pixie of the group.

"Yeah Marius?" Part of being a Thenradier meant that Eponine was able to keep her voice from quivering with the terror she felt inside. As she got closer, she could smell alcohol on his breath.

"Why did you tell me her name was Colette?" Eponine pretended to look confused and incredulous at the same time.

"I told you her name was Cosette. Where did you get Colette?" Now Marius looked confused.

"You said Colette."

"Nooo, I said Cosette. Ask anyone." Marius turned to the group that pretended not to have been watching the pair. Only Enjolras kept his gaze after Marius turned around.

"What did Eponine say the girl's name was?" The group chorused Cosette as if they had been practicing. Marius blushed and murmured 'sorry' to the relieved girl, and she scurried back to Enjolras' side.

"See, that wasn't so bad." She nodded in response to his whispered reassurance. The marble man could feel a slight shake from the girl in his arms. Courfeyrac took this as his cue to start truth or dare.

"Hey, guys, let's play Truth or Dare!"everyone, bored because of lack of action, agreed. Only Eponine and Enjolras looked a bit concerned. "Alright, rules. You have to answer at least three truths and do at least three dares. If you pass on either you have to take off an article of clothing. No things that require nudity. Alright, let's start!" It was decided Madeleine could start.

"Alright, Feuilly, truth or dare?" Feuilly paled.

"Uh...dare." Madeleine smiled deviously.

"I dare you to kiss...the guys you think is hottest in this room." Everyone burst into laughter as Feuilly pecked Enjolras' cheek. Both were beet red. Eponine couldn't stop giggling.

"Shut up." Enjolras muttered, clearly embarrassed. Eponine gave him a face of fake pity.

"Aw, poor Enjy." She pecked the same cheek as Feuilly. "Better?" The group roared as Enjolras blushed darker than his and 'Ponine's matching coats. Feuilly asked Courfeyrac who had to fess up he was a virgin (he didn't care). Courfeyrac made Bossuet kiss 'Chetta who made Joly sing the national anthem in a table cloth on a table who made Grantaire do the chicken dance who made Enjolras prank call Principle Javert (no one knows why Grantaire had the number) who made Marius sing barbie girl in a pink dress that belonged to Grantaire's sister in college. No one could keep a straight face during the performance.

"That is so going on YouTube," Courfeyrac laughed.

"Fuck you. 'Ponine, truth or dare?" She replied,

"Dare." Marius nodded.

"Okay, I dare you to wear a dress to school on Monday." Eponine started to panic. Shit. The only dresses she ever saw in her house had no sleeves and were shorter than short shorts. Everyone noticed she turned sheet white.

"Eponine, are you alright?" Joly leaned around 'Chetta to look at the paling girl. She nodded, not speaking. Enjolras squeezed Eponine closer to his body. Being the Thenradier she was, she pulled herself together and brushed off the concern of her friends.

"Fine. Okay, Madeleine, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Okay, what was your first impression of Feuilly?" The girl with the hazel eyes thought for a second then,

"I thought he was a bit klutzy, scatterbrained, but still really sweet." The other girls in room awed at the sweetness of the moment. Both blushed slightly, but Madeleine had to bash Marius. Fro reasons unclear to everyone, she really didn't like him.

"Marius, truth or dare?"

"Considering what happened last time, truth." Madeleine decided to put him on the hot seat.

"Out of which of the girls in the room do you think is prettiest?" Marius looked around, slightly frightened.

"Uh...um...'Chetta." Then the yelling started.

"Oh no, you did not just hit on my girlfriend." To say Joly was upset was an understatement.

"Dude, I was just answering the question. I don't want to date your girlfriend." More voices rose up. Feuilly leaned over and said,

"I think your beautiful. Don't worry about him." Madeleine grinned.

"Oh I'm not. I just wanted to see if the significant other would beat him up." Feuilly rolled his eyes at his girlfriend. She was a handful.

"SHUT UP!" Eponine yelled from where she was standing on the coffee table. "It is a game! For goodness sakes, stop yelling like little children! Marius, shut up. Joly, shut up and go hug your girlfriend. 'Chetta, stop freaking out. Now everybody, CALM DOWN!" All returned to their seats, ashamed of their behavior. "Thank you." The Thenradier got down and sat back down next to Enjolras.

"Sorry, 'Ponine, truth or dare?"

"Truth," she answered warily. She had to.

"Why do you and Enjolras match?" Eponine murmured to the golden boy next to her, 'told you they would notice' then spoke up.

"I decided to wear this, and Enjolras decided to wear that. It was a coincidence." It was true. Eponine had no choice but to wear this if she didn't want people to notice her bruises and Enjolras decided for himself. After that, the game slowly got boring. People slowly started to nod off, and that is when Grantaire called it a night.

"Get outta 'ere y'all." Enjolras turned to mention to Eponine he didn't know Grantaire had a southern accent, but he found her asleep. Deciding against waking her, the golden boy carried her bridal style out to the car. He couldn't help but notice she fit in his arms perfectly, like piece of a puzzle. He put her in the passenger sea and buckled her up, then drove away.

Jehan and Courfeyrac watched them. The hippie turned to his best friend and said,

"They are so soul mates. We should get them together!" Courfeyrac started the engine of his car.

"What are we, a dating service?" Jehan looked to him.

"Well, that would be fun. I'm sure the others would help." Courfeyrac rolled his eyes at the love loving hippie.

"Fine, but if this goes south, it is your fault." Jehan got out his phone as Courfeyrac thought, what did I just agree to?

**Please tell me what you thought**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi again! So thank you for all the reviews! I love them! They inspire me to write more! On with the story!**

**Chapter 5: Blind**

On the Monday of October seventh, rumors started flying during homeroom. Everyone was curious to why Eponine Thenradier, the tomboy of the school, was wearing a dress. It was Grantaire's sister's about a lifetime ago when she was twelve. Which goes to show how tiny Eponine really was.

The dress came to her knees and was long sleeved. It was quite simple with a scoop neckline and a bit of beads sew on the collar. The dark purple color really complimented her skin tone, when it wasn't flushed red that is.

"Eponine, you look amazing." Courfeyrac and Marius approached Eponine and her entourage, Enjolras. The girl flushed more at Courfeyrac's compliment. Marius seemed impressed she actually did it.

"Wow, Eppy, I can't believe you actually did it." The girl shrugged, not trusting herself to not yell at the freckled junior for embarrassing her like this. Enjolras tried not to glare at Marius. He really didn't like that boy.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Fearless leader's attempt at a light tone was slightly dampened by his clenched fists at his side. Well ,one fist was clenched, and the other hand hovered on the small of Eponine's back. Courfeyrac and Eponine exchanged worried glances. There was the obvious tension between the two boys, and more than once had they had a go at each other. The most recent time was four weeks ago. Both were suspended for three days. In their absence, the other Amis discussed the potential trigger for their unresolved tension.

_**Flashback**_

"It has to be something that is still an issue!" argued Combeferre heatedly. The better part of that lunch period had been spent trying to figure out what was Marius and Enjolras' problem with each other. Jehan, being the romantic he was, suggested maybe it was a girl. At this every head turned to Eponine.

"What?" she all but spat out. Courfeyrac and Grantaire exchanged wicked grins.

"It has be something to do with you. You are the only girl that has remained constant in both of the boy's lives." Everyone thought for a minute.

"I know why Enjolras hates Marius!" exclaimed the wine cask. Every braced themselves for the weird theory that was coming; it was likely it would be about aliens, zombies, vampires, mind control, or something as crazy as that.

"Enjolras has two reasons to be upset with Marius in my book. Theory one: Enjolras is jealous that Eponine likes Marius. Theory two: Enjolras is mad that Marius keeps hurting Eponine, which would kind of tie in with theory one. And Marius has a few reasons to hate Enjolras. One being he is jealous that Eponine hangs out with Enjolras more and trusts him more. The second would be with Enjolras there, he can't use Eponine, but that is a bit unlikely." Not a jaw at the table was closed.

"That actually makes sense," Jehan said slowly. The entire table stared at the lover of alcohol.

"What? I can be smart sometimes." Eponine decided to break the stupor everyone was in.

"Huh, is sometimes never?" The laughter resolved the conversation.

_**End Flashback**_

"Hey guys!" Grantaire ran up, dissipating the impending storm. As he got close he wolf whistled.

"'Ponine, you look nice." The rest of the Amis followed Grantaire, each complementing the only lady in the group. Enjolras leaned down to whisper in her ear,

"I told you you look beautiful." Courfeyrac was the only one who caught the blush that followed the complement from the marble statue. A grin worthy of the Cheshire cat spread across his face as he pointed out the exchange to Jehan and Grantaire. All of the Amis were up for matching Eponine and Enjolras up. It hurt them all to see Eponine constantly hurting because of Marius. They liked to see Eponine happy, and if Enjolras made her happy, then by God, were they all going to try their hardest to get the two together. Even the honorary Amis were all for it.

The first bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom. The group parted ways with good byes.

**Line break**

"Yay, lunch!" Grantaire cheered and led the group to the lunchroom. Eponine didn't have lunch, so Enjolras gave her some of his (he knew she wasn't going to bring a lunch, so he packed extra, a lot extra). The Amis all sat at their table in the back corner. It wasn't long before the conversation turned to Eponine's new wardrobe.

"Got hit on by anyone yet?" Everyone stopped eating because no one wanted to choke when she made them laugh. The girl kept her eyes on the table.

"Just twice. Once by the captain of the football team, Louis-Philippe. I kneed him in the nuts. I don't think he will be having kids anytime soon." At this the table exploded into laughter. Jehan laughed then abruptly stopped. Eponine didn't look too good. She seemed pale and a bit sick. Her expression reminded him of glass, about to break any minute, and if he was not mistaken, tear stains glittered on her cheeks.

Enjolras caught his eye. The boy looked more protective than usual. His posture was slightly leaning in and over Eponine as if to shield her.

"Eponine? Who was the other that hit on you?" The laughter at the table stopped. Her breath hitched, and Enjolras caught her as she swayed slightly. His gently pulled her onto his lap and murmured in her ear, rubbing her back slowly and methodically to calm her down. The group exchanged glances. They all felt as if they were intruding on something personal. Eponine shook her head and buried it in Enjolras' shoulder. Her hugged her tightly, petting her hair, then looked at the concerned Amis.

"The second person was Montparnesse." At this everyone grew serious. It was no secret that creep was interested in Eponine. They used to date, but he started to stalk her and beat her. One day, he attacked in the school. The Amis saw and beat up Montparnesse to help Eponine, but his friends came and locked Enjolras and Eponine in a closet in a warehouse a few miles away from the school. It took the police twenty hours to find them. When they got out, they were thick as thieves, and they have been that way ever since. In twenty hours they went from total strangers to BFFs.

"He pinned her to the lockers and tried to give her a hickey and drag her into a closet. I went looking for her and found them. As soon as I pulled Montparnesse off of her, she nailed in him the nuts." The table applauded Eponine, who gave everyone a weak and watery smile. Tears still ran down her cheeks.

"Good job, Eponine." Madeleine loved it when boys got what was coming to him. Eponine acknowledged her comment with a nod. Enjolras knew that Eponine was going to start sobbing any second. He had left out the detail in the story that Montparnesse was lifting up Eponine's skirt and groping her in a terrible way. It had scared Eponine that she was almost just a statistic of rape victims.

"Come on, Eponine. Let get materiel for our French Revolution project." They were the only ones in the group that were taking AP Euro History, so no one would be any the wiser that there wasn't a real project. The pair rose and was about to go when Marius ran up and grabbed Eponine's left wrist.

"Merde!" she cried. Enjolras pushed Marius away and looked at her wrist with her, scanning for any damage done. Every Amis glared at the lovestruck boy who had hurt their little sister. Madeleine even threw a paper ball at him. When he looked to see who had thrown it, Madeleine pretended to be eating her yogurt.

"Oh, sorry 'Ponine. I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just wondering if you would give this to Cosette from me." He held out a letter. A love letter. Eponine felt her heart break all over again. Combeferre and Bossuet both held Enjolras back. It took everyone else to hold back Grantaire, Courfeyrac, and Bahorel. Luckily, 'Chetta and Joly were there to help instead of making out in a closet.

Everyone watched the pixie girl. She was standing alone, not letting Marius see her cry. Inside her heart was falling to her feet, shattering on impact. A wave of tears tried to push itself out, but Eponine was a Thenardier and Thenardiers were tough. They didn't show weakness.

"Okay." With that one word, Marius gave her the letter, hugged her, and ran. Everyone stared at Eponine, shocked into paralysis. Everyone was looking at her in disbelief and pity but mostly disbelief. She stood alone, shaking slightly. Her fist tightened around the letter, and she ran. Enjolras broke free, took their book bags, and ran after her. The remaining Amis plopped down into their chairs. Courfeyrac decided to speak.

"Alright, that was seriously the saddest thing I have ever seen, and I watched that new movie Les Miserables." Heads bobbed up and down in agreement. "We need them to get together."

"Amen to that," agreed Grantaire. "But what can we do? They already spend all their free time together and even not their free time together. If I didn't know better, I would say they were already a couple."

"Well," started Jehan, "maybe they are a couple, and we don't know it." Combeferre jumped in.

"No, that's not it. I think they are a couple, but they don't know it. They are blinded by Eponine's fake love for Marius, and Enjolras' love of not being in love."

"So, we need them to know they are a couple?" asked Madeleine.

"Yes," answered Combeferre. Grantaire thought for a minute.

"So we need to get rid of these two obstacles. Hopefully, Cosette will take care of Marius for us. Enjolras' problem is a bit bigger. He is just going to have to learn to love Eponine, which I think he already does. I suggest we try to keep Marius away and push Eponine even closer to Enjolras. They don't hang out after school much, from what I hear from Enjolras. Eponine works and acts. He works and tries to send the Congress letters or help set up charities. Maybe we can get Eponine involved in the charities and Enjolras involved with her work or acting thingy." Everyone deadpanned at Grantaire.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Grantaire?" asked 'Chetta. Laughter almost drowned out the bell.

"So, it had been decided. We'll try to get them involved with each other or admit their feelings. Agreed?" It was unanimous. They won't know what hit them! Enjoline, here we come, thought Grantaire wickedly. Oh this was going to be so fun.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi! I'm back! Time to get moving along with Eponine's pain! And the Les Amis' plot! Hehehe. Enjolras an Eponine don't stand a chance.**

**Chapter 6: No Air**

Enjolras was going to kill Marius. That blind idiot had been using 'Ponine to deliver love letters for him for three damn weeks! And Cosette was using her too! Those stupid ass love birds were oblivious to the world of pain hovering right on the edges of their existence. If they opened their eyes a bit wider they would see what they were doing and how badly it hurt 'Ponine.**  
**Everyone, and that includes everyone, was concerned for her. She had been broken by Pontmercy and his lover. She was a picture of defeat, each step dragging with pain. The fire in her eyes had gone out, just left, leaving her eyes dull and lifeless. Bruises and marks started to appear more frequently, causing questions which prompted Eponine to avoid the Les Amis whenever possible. She was scared, depressed, and broken. Her spirit was gone, and that was what scared Enjolras the most.**  
**She was like the walking dead. No emotion or passion or life underneath the mask of skin. Only she didn't go around moaning about eating brains. She just seemed gone. The last time Enjolras saw emotion from her was when she had been sobbing into his chest after Marius had asked her to deliver the letter the first time. When the bell rang, she got it together but left her fire behind. Enjolras was going to kill Marius.**  
**He wasn't worth her tears! Pontmercy was a selfish prick who only cared about himself, and there was nothing Enjolras wanted to do more in this world than to drop kick that loser all the way back to that shabby hole he came from.**  
**There had been times when it almost got physical. Once, during English, the two boys got in a debate over whether people could fall in love at first sight, and the entire class took sides. When Bahorel almost started to punch Edguardo Nationales, the teacher put an end to the debate.Another time, Marius was asking Eponine to deliver another letter. Enjolras almost punched the lovestruck dummy, but the Amis held him back with much reluctance.

It hurt. Simple as that. It killed Enjolras to see Eponine in a state of sorrow as deep as this. She was gone, there but not. She was lost and he wanted nothing more than to pull her out, but he was lost too. She was his light, his lifeline. She was the one who melted the marble statue. She made him change his ways. Now, with her gone, he was slowly turning back to stone. It was like Medusa was slowly turning him to stone.

It didn't help that he socked Pontmercy in the jaw today when Marius asked Eponine to deliver a letter to Cosette. When the question slipped off of Marius' tongue like oil, Enjolras saw red. He was fed up with Pontmercy ignoring other's feelings and using Eponine like she was a dog. No one was around to hold him back, so he stalked up and gave Marius the right hook that poser so deserved.

"Enjolras!" Eponine's cry kept the marble man from delivering another punch. She rushed to Marius and asked if he was okay. The freckled boy had no idea Enjolras could pack such a punch.

"What on earth made you do that?" Enjolras was taken aback. Did Eponine really not understand?

"He keeps using you and treating you like a dog or something!" The angry retort sparked defiance in Eponine's soul.

"Well, then it is my problem isn't it? It isn't your place to go around punching people in the jaw!"

"I'm trying to protect you!"

"You aren't my keeper!"

"Well then why don't you take care of yourself!? Are you too weak to do anything about it?" At this point Enjolras was full on yelling and waving his hands in the air. Eponine threw her hands in front of her face on instinct. Enjolras saw and realized what he had done. She was afraid of him. It wasn't supposed to be like that. He was supposed to protect her and make her feel safe.

"Eponine...I didn't mean...I wasn't going...I wouldn't..." Eponine just turned and ran as if to escape. Enjolras watched her go, deflating as she fled. The Amis saw the exchange from inside the student government room. They watched as their fearless leader staggered under the weight of what he just did.

"I...I-"

"Messed up?" supplied Marius, trying to be sympathetic, which was hard because he was just punched in the jaw. Enjolras just looked at the boy massaging his jaw, then at his friends. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. Grantaire knew what was coming, and all watched as Enjolras punched the wall. A choked sob rose from his throat as he sank down with his back to the wall and head in his hands.

Their leader was broken, just like their little sister. It was hard to watch. 'Chetta and Madeleine both tried to comfort Enjolras while their boyfriends and usually childlike friends took care of Pontmercy.

"Go home, Marius. We'll call you when things die down." The freckled kid took the message to heart and went home.

"What can I do?" Enjolras looked to his friends for answers.

"Well, apologize to Eponine and explain to her that you would never hurt her. That is the only thing I can think of," suggested 'Chetta. So it is with her advice that we pick up with Enjolras staring at the popcorn on his ceiling when it was two a.m.

"Fuck this, I am calling her again." This would be the twenty seventh time he had called since he got home at four the previous day. He had also sent her seventy texts. The phone rang. "Pick up, pick up, pick, up." Then he heard the telltale click that meant she had picked up.

"Eponine, I-"

"Please, I don't know who you are, but please come. Please. Please. I am begging you. Please help my sister!" The person on the phone wasn't Eponine. It had to be Azelma. Enjolras felt his blood run cold. Oh shit.

"Azelma, my name is Enjolras. I am a friend of Eponine. What happened?" As he was talking he put on jeans and shoes.

"My..my..my father. He..he..he beat her! She..she...she." Azelma was cut off by her sobs. Enjolras grabbed a jacket and his car keys.

"Okay, Azelma, stay on the phone. Okay, stay with me. I'm on my way." Eponine once told him her address and what to do in case she didn't show up to school, and she didn't tell him she was sick. He was to go in through the window with the French flag and not the front door.

"Please hurry. Please."

"Have you called the paramedics?"

"I can't. My father would...he would..." At this the girl was gripped with another wave of tears. Luckily no one was on the road, so Enjolras sped to Eponine's apartment complex like a bat out of hell all while keeping an eye on her star. It seemed to be flickering, like it was getting brighter slowly. He parked his car and ran to complex three. On the ground floor, he saw an open window with the French flag fluttering. After he slid through, he was met with a sight that stilled him to the bone.

It was Eponine. She was unrecognizable. Her face was red with blood and her hair stiff with the dried red stuff. Cut and bruises littered her arms and what he could see of her legs. Her arm was twisted at an odd angle. Next to her was girl that looked just like her, only with black hair, a narrower face, and paler skin. Tears were running down her cheeks at an alarming rate.

"Hello, Ms. Azemla." Enjolras greeted her shakily, then turned back to Eponine. He felt for a pulse which was thankfully there. "What happened?" As he asked, he took his shirt and pressed it to Eponine's bleeding head. It was the back of her head where her spine met her head.

"She took my beating too. She took my beating after everything I have done to her. I've ratted her out. I've..I've.." The distraught girl couldn't get over her tears. Suddenly a loud crsh came from the kitchen, and the younger Thenradier girl transfixed Enjolras with her steel gray stare.

"That's my father. Get Eponine out of here. I'll stall him. Get her out." Before Enjolras could reply, the young girl was already at the door. As an after thought she murmured,

"Tell her not to worry and not to come back. There won't be anything left. I'll see her again someday. Take care of my sister. Give her love and happiness and joy. Give her everything. Make sure she is never hurt again. Swear you will."

"I swear." Azelma seemed to relax with this.

"Lovely, now all debts are paid, and I can go forward with a clean slate. Tell her I love her. This is for her. A life for a life." The brave girl gave Enjolras one, last smile and disappeared into the belly of the beast.

"Goodbye, Azelma." For a second, Enjolras stood, frozen by her bravery and sacrifice. Then he turned back to Eponine. He had to get her to the hospital. If Azelma was going to die, it wouldn't be in vain. Gingerly, Enjolras picked Eponine up bridal style. He moved to the window and gently placed her on the dirt ground while he climbed out after. A scream ripped through the night, shattering the eerie silence. Quickly as he could without hurting Eponine, Enjolras ran to his car.

Round after round of screams left the marble man a shaking mess. He hurriedly strapped Eponine in on the passenger side of his car and started the engine while calling 911.

"911, what is your emergency?"

"My name is Enjolras and my best friend has been beaten by her father. She is bleeding, broken, and bruised."

"Where are you?" The operator's calm voice helped Enjolras slightly.

"I am driving her to Bishop of Myriel Memorial Hospital." The lady on the phone with him assured that the hospital would be ready for her. After he hung up, he called Grantaire.

"Enjolras, you do realize it is two thirty in the morning right?" The groggy teen was so confused to why his friend was up.

"Eponine is hurt! She she she." Enjolras couldn't get it out. Suddenly, Grantaire was wide awake.

"What happened?" Enjolras could even speak. Tears blocked his airway. What if she died? He never got to alpopgize. She would die not knowing he was sorry. She would die ignorant of his love for her. Whoa, where id that come from? Grantaire sensed his friend's despair.

"Enjolras? Enjolras, Eponine will be okay. She is a fighter. Where are you taking her?" Taking deep breaths, Enjolras managed to respond. "Alright, I'll call the others. We will be there soon." after Grantaire hung up, he realized he should have stayed on the phone with Enjolras. Oh well, too late now.

"You'll be okay, Eponine. Just hold on. We are almost there." Two minutes later, the cracked marble statue pulled into the hospital parking lot. Barely pausing to lock his car, Enjolras ran holding Eponine tight into the ER. True to the 911 lady's words, paramedics were waiting for them. Enjolras let Eponine be taken away on a stretcher. The entire ER was staring at him. He looked like hell with messed up hair, no shirt, and tears on his face.

Plopping down in a cold, white, plastic chair, Enjolras started to silently let the tears fall.

_Please, 'Ponine, please be okay. I'm so sorry. Please. Please. Please..._

**Tell me what you think. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey! So thank you for the reviews. I love them! Hopefully I will clear somethings up in this chapter. On with the story! **

**Chpater 7: Indecency**

It was quiet, still. All in the ER were wondering what was up with the boy in no cloths, but no one said a thing. They had their own problems and didn't want to get mixed up in someone else's thank you very much. But they couldn't pretend they didn't hear him crying, crying for whoever that bloody mess was.

Enjolras knew he was making a scene, but he didn't give a damn to whatever anybody thought. His best friend was currently undergoing major surgery and might not pull through. When the doctor told the despairing teen that, it was almost a repeat of what happened to Marius. It just wasn't fair. Life wasn't fair.

For her entire life, Eponine had gotten the short end of the stick. Time and time again she was hurt by those she loved: Her father, Marius, even him. She was always beaten down, always made fun of, laughed at. She took it all, the pain, heart break, and hurt. She protected those she loved from the blows even if they didn't love her back. She took all the hurt and never hurt anyone back. Except for Enjolras; when she let herself be hurt, she hurt him. And she had no idea.

As Enjolras sat, he thought of Azelma too. Guilt wracked his body almost as much as sorrow, but he knew that there was no way she was going to have left that house. She would never have come with him and Eponine. She was more worried about Eponine first off and second off, she had a guilty conscience. A guilty conscience was so strong it led some to death, so that they could settle a debt. From what he got, Azelma wasn't the nicest to Eponine and still Eponine protected her, so Azelma felt indebted to her sister. It was a trait, Enjolras noticed; Thenardiers were stubborn. Stubborn to the point of possible death.

The shaking, scared teen disturbed a curious little boy. Wiggling away from his mother, he strode right up to the weeping Enjolras and tapped his bare shoulder. Tear filled blue eyes peeked up at the small boy.

"Mister, why are you so sad?" The innocent, young child touched Enjolras' heart. Here in a cold room of sorrow, this little boy burst like a ray of light.

"Well, my best friend got really hurt. She might not wake up, and we had an argument. I haven't apologized yet, either. I want to tell her I am sorry." The boy looked up with his huge, brown eyes. Eyes like Eponine's.

"Was she hurt really bad?" Enjolras nodded. "Did you try kissing her boo-boos? That always makes me feel better!" Enjolras couldn't help but smile as the little boy twisted his red shirt in his hands, slightly bashful.

"No, I didn't. I'll give it a try next time." The boy's mother ran up, noticing he was gone and apologized for disturbing Enjolras.

"No, don't worry about it." The boy went back with his mother, and it was quiet again. That lasted about two seconds, the came the thunder. A total disarray of voices in a strange harmony rang out simultaneously.

"OMG! Where is she?"

"What's going on!"

"Where is she?"

"Is she okay?"

"Enjolras! What happened?"

"I'm going to kill that man bitch!" At this all the Amis turned to Grantaire.

"Really, man bitch? Don't you mean bastard?" Madeleine flicked the alcohol lover upside the head. In response, he stuck his tongue out.

"No, I mean man bitch. A bastard is someone that is a child of an unmarried couple. So I mean man bitch." He got a slap before the group flocked to their leader. The loud group of teenagers startled everyone to look. Now they were getting some stares.

Madeleine and 'Chetta were in their nightgowns with a jacket thrown over. Grantaire and Joly had their pajama pants on with a shirt. Combeferre, Bahorel, and Feuilly were all in jeans and jacket, no shirts. Courfeyrac was in his boxers and a sweatshirt. But perhaps the best was Jehan who was only in a bathrobe. All were either barefooted or in slippers.

"How are you, buddy?" Grantaire crouched next to his dumbstruck friend. Enjolras just stared.

"Say something, honey!" 'Chetta was concerned for Enjolras as well as Eponine. If she didn't pull through, they would lose Enjolras too. Courfeyrac being Courfeyrac noticed Enjolras' lack of clothing.

"Where's your shirt?" Enjolras looked up at his not to bright friend and just blinked.

"You are in your boxers, Jehan's in a bathrobe, and all of you are still in your pajamas, and you are asking where is my shirt?" For the first time since they were woken up that morning by either a phone call, text, or invasion of the house, the Amis noticed what they were wearing.

"Wow, I'm surprised we haven't been arrested for public indecency yet!" Courfeyrac's comment caused smiles to crack on many of the faces in the ER, even a few giggles rang out. The Amis pulled up chairs to form a circle. They sat in silence for a second, letting the seriousness of the situation take hold.

"She'll be okay, right?" Jehan's voice broke the still surface of the lake. Enjolras got all the stares.

"I don't know. The doctor said she had to get major surgery, and she...she..." Enjolras couldn't say it. If he said it, then it was possible. If he said she could die, she might die. As long as it never left his lips, it would never happen. Luckily, the Amis got the message. A few tears slipped from all the eyes as they were faced with the prospect of never seeing their sister again.

"Guys," Madeleine managed to choke out, "we should pray for Eponine. She would like it." The suggestion was accepted by all and hands were joined in one long chain. "Enjolras, would you like to say some things?" A murmur came from someone that sounded a lot like "I feel like I am at a funeral." Enjolras nodded in acceptance and cleared his throat.

"Lord in heaven, you take and give in turn to each of us. We know that you have a plan, but please let Eponine pull through. Please let us keep the girl we have come to call sister and friend."

"And love of-" The interruption was taken care of with a swift jab in the ribs by the resident hypochondriac.

"Please restore her to us. Please let her proceed forward in this world safely and loved. And please protect Azelma. Please protect her and let her be alright, and if she isn't, please take her into your kingdom. Amen." The bowed heads looked up, but the hands stayed linked.

"Who's Azelma?" inquired the poet. Enjolras knew it was time to come clean.

"Azelma is Eponine's sister. She also has a brother named Gavroche, who left after the abuse got bad." Shock and sorrow overwhelmed the Amis

"Abuse?"

"Yes, Eponine's father abused her and her siblings. Her father, Jacques Thenradier, is wanted by the FBI for several crimes including rape and child abuse. You see, Eponine's mother doesn't even love her father, and Eponine's father raped her mother and then forced her to marry him. Eponine was a result. Then came her sister, brother, and two more brothers behind that. For awhile, Jacques was a good father, kind, caring, blah blah blah. But when Eponine was ten, he father's business failed, and he became abusive.

"Soon, he started to steal, lie, and cheat. He even killed a man who got in his way. Jacques knew he needed help and recruited a gang. Montparnesse is part of this gang. That is why he and Eponine ever dated, and why he thinks he owns her.. Anyhow, when things got worse Jacques sold the two youngest to a woman, and no one has heard of them since. Gavroche ran away shortly after and is living with my grandparent on the other side of town. That left Eponine and Azelma at their father's mercy.

"Eponine refused to participate in the gang's business, so she got beat more often. Azelma obeyed her father, so most of the time, she was okay. But tonight, Azelma was going to be beaten. But Eponine took her beating too. Azelma felt bad and answered when I called to ask me for help. She said she would stall her father, and I needed to get Eponine out of there. So I got Eponine out, and here we are." No one could say they were entirely shocked. The signs were all there, and the girl with a mysterious past never talked of her family. It was gruesome, but not shocking. But one thing disturbed Combeferre.

"Did you leave Azelma at the house?" Enjolras hung his head.

"That girl wouldn't have come. She was more stubborn than Eponine. I could see it in her eyes she wasn't going anywhere. She was more concerned about her sister, and I was too. I plan to get her out too, if I can. But no matter what I could have said, she wouldn't come. She made sure I had no time to argue, only time to promise to take care of 'Ponine." Silence settled again. Then,

"Grantaire, how did you know 'Ponine's father hurt her?" That was a valid question. Everyone recalled how Grantaire said he was going to kill that man bitch.

"Yeah, how did you know?" asked Enjolras, curious because Eponine said he was the only one who knew. Grantaire shrugged.

"Well, Enjolras and Madeleine, I could tell she was being abused. I watched cop shows you know. It didn't take a genius to figure it out. I just thought it was Montparnesse; I didn't know it was her dad."

"Wow, the drunk got it before the rest of us. I feel stupid," said Bahorel.

"You are stupid. This is your fourth time being a junior," pointed out Courfeyrac.

"Why you!" Bahorel started to chase Courfeyrac around the ER.

"Boy! Behave!" commanded 'Chetta. The chastised boys slowly returned to their seats. "Now, Courfeyrac, apologize!" Cowed, the boxer boy murmured,

"Sorry." 'Chetta shook her head.

"Eponine, is a saint for putting up with you all." Courfeyrac laughed at the red head.

"Hey, Joly, you fell in love with a mother hen! You can really pick 'em. Thinking of your future family?" Joly and 'Chetta blushed.

"Shove off, 'Fey." Madeleine, being the violent girl she was, shoved Courfeyrac onto the floor. Feuilly turned to his girlfriend.

"You are violent, you know that?" Madeleine nodded cheerfully. All in the ER could notice it. They were trying to distract themselves and the blond boy from the possibility of their friend's death. It seemed to be working for Enjolras wore a tiny smile. But then it slid off.

The little boy from earlier ran up to Enjolras with a picture, and he remembered the possibility of Eponine's death.

"Please give this to your friend! And remember what I told you." The little boy tried to wink, making Enjolras crack a soft smile. Ruffling the kid's hair he murmured,

"Thanks kiddo." The boy smiled a toothy grin and ran back to his waiting mother and sister who was chattering on about her stitches. Enjolras looked at the picture. It had a stick figure prince kissing a stick figure princess and it said, 'Get well soon!' Enjolras smiled wider.

"Who was that kid?" questioned Bossuet. All were wondering after watching the exchange

"Just someone who cares." Wisely, the Amis decided to drop it. They waited in silence, the seconds dragging on. Something occurred to Enjolras suddenly.

"Do your parents know you are gone?" Most nodded, having left notes, but Courfeyrac cursed and ran out to call his mom as the sun came up. He came back looking shamefaced. The group just sat and sat and sat. Six came then seven. It was decided no one was moving until they knew about Eponine. School didn't matter anyway. Finally the doctor came out and asked,

"Is anyone here for Ms. Eponine?" All the Amis practically tackled the doctor.

"Is she okay?"

"What's going on?"

"Did she..."

"Will she live?"

"Where is the cafeteria?" All looked at Courfeyrac. "What? I'm hungry, and if we are going to be waiting, I want food," he said defensibly. The doctor said,

"I assume you are all here for Ms. Eponine?" Nodding became a new trend in that instant. Enjolras pushed to the front and spoke for the people.

"Is she alright?" the doctor read and sheet then looked up and sighed saying,

"Well son..."

**CLIFFY! Please review! I have school so tell me, do you want the next chapter on monday or tuesday because the update after that will be on thursday. If no one says anything, I'll put it up on tuesday.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Bonjour, mon amis. Thank you for the reviews! I love them! Now to pick up where we left off.**

**Chpater 8:**

Enjolras pushed to the front and spoke for the people.

"Is she alright?" The doctor read and sheet then looked up and sighed saying,

"Well son..." Shirts and jackets were twisted as they awaited the verdict. It took a few second for the doctor to figure out how to say it. There in front of him were a bunch of teens in no clothes. They were a weird crowd; you could never tell with those types. Finally, Madeleine couldn't take it.

"IS SHE ALIVE OR DEAD!? ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!" Her explosion shocked the doctor. Yep, defiantly a bunch of weirdos. Feuilly held her back and murmured in her ear to calm her a bit. The doctor straightened his slightly ruffled coat.

"Yes she is alive. She pulled through the surgery." At this news practically the entire ER exploded into cheers. What could be said, it was depressing to see teens so down, and besides, it is a happy thing. The Amis danced around with each other whooping and hollering like they were a bunch of fangirls at a party and Justin Beiber showed up or something. Even Enjolras cheered a bit. The doctor rubbed his head. They did not pay him enough to do this sort of thing.

"But," the cheers died in an instant, "she could still die. She is stable for now, but her lung was punctured and many ribs were broken. She had to get a lot of stitches, especially on her head. She could go either way. But she won't pull through if that sort of thing happens to her again. Her body won't be able to stand it." The Amis got serious at this news. They would protect Eponine. She was never going to back to that hell hole. Ever. Period. End of discussion.

"Now, I suggest you all go home or to school. We will-" Enjolras cut him off coldly.

"We aren't going anywhere. Eponine is our friend. We aren't going to leave her. We made a promise to her: no one gets left behind. We are there for each other no matter the time of day or the circumstances. When can we see her?" The man in the white coat was taken aback by the shirtless teen's air of command.

"Um, now, but only one at a time, and for God's sake, do not disturb or agitate her. She is in room 246 on floor 01." With that, the blunt man went to go get himself and aspirin. He still had to work for another six hours. The group exchanged glance, then simultaneously said,

"Enjolras." The blond teen replied wearily,

"That's my name, don't wear it out." Combeferre rolled his eyes and pushed the leader forward.

"You are going to see Eponine. No ifs, ands, or buts. Run along." Enjolras smiled widely and promised to return with news. As he walked away he heard Courfeyrac say,

"Now where is the snack bar. I am seriously hungry." A small snort was a result from Courfeyrac's comment. As the golden boy navigated to Eponine's room, he felt as light as hydrogen. She was going to be okay. She was alive, and he would be seeing her in a matter of seconds. Finally, after what seemed like seven ice ages, Enjolras found room 246. Taking a deep breath, the youth pushed the door open.

Eponine was awake. She watched him as he came to her bedside, looking like a right mess. Tentatively, recalling their argument less than twenty four hours ago, he took her tiny hand in his larger, warm one. She gave it a squeeze and smiled up at her best friend.

"Hey, 'Ponine, you gave us a proper scare you know that? Even better than Halloween." The marble statue's voice was softer than an angel's kiss. Identical smirks crossed the pair's faces. That was awesome! They had locked their friends in a closet and pretended like they were going to kill them. It had been awesome. So many tears and soiled pants. When 'Ponine spoke, her voice was weaker than the mewling of a newborn kitten.

"I doubt that." Enjolras gave a soft laugh, feeling freer than the wind. Shaking his curly hair crowned head, he gazed at Eponine with a love deeper than the Mariana trench. Every pore of his being was filled with love and happiness all because of Eponine. It was no mystery; she was something special.

"No, I think you trumped that. We all came." Eponine's brows knitted.

"Are you guys playing hookey?" Enjolras nodded cheekily. The beautiful coffee colored eyes rolled in their sockets at the golden boy. Enjolras smiled. It was nice to have 'Ponine back. Her fire had finally returned. Hospitals did have a use after all it seemed.

"Enjolras?"

"Hm?"

"Why don't you have a shirt on?" A bout of laughter escaped the happy boy.

"You should see the rest of us. It has come as a surprise we haven't been arrested for public indecency."Eponine bit her lip to keep from laughing. Her friends were defiantly something else, but she loved them all the same. As she gazed up at Enjolras, she realized how much she had missed him. She had no idea of the cause, but it had hurt to watch Enjolras slowly turn back into the marble statue. She liked him so much better when he was himself: funny, caring, and a bit mischievous.

"Take a picture for me, okay?" Enjolras smiled and nodded, glad to comply. A slightly awkward silence settled over the pair. Then Enjolras sighed.

"Eponine, I am really sorry for yesterday. I...I would never hurt you. I am so sorry I scared you. I would choose death over hurting you" Eponine nodded, thinking over what he just said. She knew that he would never hurt her, but it was just that she had gotten scared because she was used to being kicked around. And that little part about choosing death over hurting her, she really hoped he was lying or could be persuaded to change his mind.

"I know, Enjolras. I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm used not use to people caring, even now."

"Well, you probably should get used to it soon because there is a lobby full of people who care for you. And I'm sure Pontmercy cares." _Who will be his delivery girl if she had died? _Enjolras thought bitterly.

"Cosette cares too." That shocked Enjolras. He had only heard about the blonde girl through Marius. He had no idea that Eponine was friends with her. "She and I had a sleepover one time. She said she felt bad about not giving me anything in return or delivering her letters. It was actually kind of fun, and it was nice to have a girl to talk to for a change. Made me question why I hang out with you losers," Eponine joked. In response, Enjolras stuck his tongue out at her. Then, the girl's face got troubled.

"How did I get here?" The golden boy sighed. He did not want to talk about this now.

"I brought you here. I tried calling you to apologize or talk, but Azelma picked up the phone. She begged I come and bring you to somewhere safe, so I did." This story visibly knocked Eponine for a loop.

"Azelma's here?" Enjolras could only shake his head sadly.

"She refused to come. She wanted you to be safe. She..she says she love you." Tears started to rush down in waterfalls. Gingerly, Enjolras sat next to Eponine and cradled her gently but protectively. They stayed together for what seemed like eternity. Neither of them wanted to break away, so they just slowly breathed in each other, taking in the fact they were both alive. It was calm and quiet; it was perfect. But nothing gold can stay.

"EPONINE!" It seemed the Amis didn't give give a damn to what Mr. Blunt had told them. They were bored and going to see their friend. Simple as that. Enjolras and Eponine looked up, and the latter burst into giggles at the sight of her friends. Enjolras had been right; they should be in jail for public indecency.

"Oh, honey, we are so glad you are alive!" exclaimed 'Chetta. A roar of agreement backed this statement. All the injured girl could do was smile. They were amazing.

"I'm fine, but I have been informed you guys plan on playing hookey." Every head bobbed in confirmation. A light laugh escaped the lips of the bedridden girl. Grantaire sauntered forward.

"When you get better we are so having a party!" Enjolras and Eponine exchanged glances. Those never ended well. Joly spoke over the din.

"Why didn't you tell us your father was abusive. We would have helped you." The room grew quiet, waiting for Eponine to answer.

"It never came up, and I didn't want you guys to treat me differently. I didn't want you to pity me or shun me. I was afraid of how you would react. You guys would go all commando or something, and don't bother trying to deny it, we all know it is true." Everyone shrugged. She was right. They would have made sure she was protected 24/7 or beat up her father themselves. When it came to injuries and the Amis, it never ended well for the perpetrator.

The group continued to talk about meaningless things like what their teachers were thinking about their collective absence or Montparnesse's relief with not having to face the Amis today. Finally, a doctor realized that the almost naked teens were missing. The staff tracked them down to Eponine's room and made them all leave.

"Bye, Eppy! We will come back with gifts next time!" Eponine rolled her eyes as her friends left the room. Just when she thought she was alone, Enjolras ran back in, gave her a piece of paper and kissed her forehead. He ran out blushing to join his other friends in the waiting room. They still refused to go home. Courfeyrac, Jehan, Combeferre, and Grantaire pulled Enjolras to the back of the pack.

"What are we going to do about Eponine? She cannot go back to the hell hole she just climbed out of." All three of the boys in on the matchmaking were hoping that Enjolras would volunteer to take Eponine in. Luckily, Bossuet was no where near, so fate favored them.

"I don't mind having her come to live with me. I made a promise to Azelma to keep 'Ponine safe, and I don't plan on breaking it." Enjolras walked back up to the front of the pack and left the rest of the boys silently cheering. Now there was no way that those two wouldn't fall in love! That is of course if no one interfered. At the front, Enjolras was think of Azelma. He would keep his promise to her.

Eponine was also thinking of Azelma. There was no way her sister was dead. She was too valuable to their father. Eponine and Gavroche were always defiant, but Azelma obeyed and was daddy's little girl. There was no way their father had hurt her, so then why had Eponine heard her sister's screams in the haze of her unconsciousness? Something was off. While her father would never hurt Azelma, Montparnesse had had his eye on the younger Thenradier girl for a while. What happened? Eponine felt sick to her stomach think about it. What did that monster do?


	9. Chapter 9

**So thank you for all the reviews! I love them all! Thank you!**

**Chapter 9: Guardian Angel  
**"What did I miss today?" Eponine had been in the hospital for four days now. Enjolras visited everyday, rain or shine, right after school and stayed until he was kicked out, which usually took doctors telling him at least four times. Sometimes the other Amis tagged along, just to say hi or bring her homework, but Enjolras had her covered.**  
**"Mr. Lamarque assigned us a project. You are my partner, and our topic is female rights. I think we have that covered. " Espiegle smiles were exchanged. Everyone else was going to be put to shame. Oh well, what can be expected when you put a feminist and a civil rights activist on a topic as loaded as women's rights.**  
**"I think we should focus on how women are used for pleasure and money like forced prostitution and rape. We are viewed as a sex tool. It isn't fun. It is scary." Enjolras put his pen down and looked up, disquieted by his friend's remark. The girl had abandon her homework in favor of shaking slightly. The golden boy got up mutely and wrapped his arms around the pixie, being sure to avoid her injured ribs and arm. He loved how she fit into his chest and just molded to his body. She loved how safe she felt and how she felt like she belonged in his arms. It was a strange slice of heaven for both of them. Strange, new, and sweet all at the same time.**  
**"Did you ever...?" Enjolras couldn't bring himself to finish the question. He felt a shake from the head against his chest.Relief flooded every inch of the blond protector. So his lily was still white; that alone kept him from rushing out of the room to go scream at the world for hurting his little flower.

"Enjolras?" The boy pulled away slightly to lock eyes with the angel in his arms. The crystalline blue eyes and warm sepia toned eyes didn't break contact. The sunlight filtered in, turning the pair into angels from heaven. Light exploded across their faces, illuminating a dark corner of their heart, bringing a flower to life in both hearts. A new feeling fluttered in each stomach, kind of like butterflies were beating their wings all around, brushing gently against the pair. A force seemed to drive the two separate humans closer until their lips were almost touching.

"Eponine?" Marius' tentative voice, slightly muffled through the door, broke the pair out of their rapture causing them to spring apart. Enjolras slid off the bed and opened the door at Eponine's nod. Marius froze as soon as he saw to telltale red coat in the door. The slightly menacing figure strode back to Eponine's side, ever-present like a loyal guard dog. The now nervous freckle faced boy awkwardly let the door shut, leaving the room in silence. Tension ran high, choking the trio. Eponine decided to speak.

"Marius! It is good to see you." Relief encompassed Marius, while Enjolras felt a weird sensation in his heart at Eponine's pleased tone.

"Hey,'Ponine! I was just wondering how you were doing. Courfeyrac told me everything that happened. How terrible it must have been, being run over and all. Did you sue?" Eponine looked at Enjolras. What? The red lover quickly spoke up.

"It was a hit and run. We have no idea who almost killed Eponine." Clarity struck the bedridden girl like lightning. It was a cover story. No one had any idea what actually happened. She had awesome friends.

Marius seemed scared and uncomfortable after Enjolras addressed him. Discreetly as possible, Eponine elbowed the marble statue in the ribs. Their eyes locked in a silent conversation.

_Apologize!_

_Why?_

_Because I said so, and I am hurt so ha!_ Marius, being the blind doofus he is, missed the entire exchange. Enjolras audibly sighed.

"Look, Marius, I'm sorry I punched you last week. It was uncalled for. Sorry." Marius put his hands up and responded,

"Don't worry about it, mon amis. Friends?" The blue eyed boy smiled. He might get irritated with Marius more the Grantaire, but he still hated to fight with him.

"Friends." Marius' face split into a pearly grin. Eponine waited for her heart to start beating quicker, but it only picked up a bit, not like the usual race car speed it changes to with a single smile. She watched as the stone face of the blond next to her cracked into a small smile. Unable to resist, the petite brunette awwed at the cuteness of the scene. Both boys looked at her  
"You guys are so cute!" All burst into consummate laughter. As breath stealing pain shot through Eponine's side, she winced. The pair of males were at her side in an instant, deeply concerned. Breathlessly, the girl waved her hand as if to say 'I'm fine'. She tried to inhale but found no air. Struggling to take a breath, Eponine started to panic. She was suffocating.  
"Marius! Get the doctor!" Enjolras' voice sloshed with fear. The pale boy followed his commander's orders, practically flying as he tried to find someone to help his friend. Eponine looked into the fright filled crystalline blue eyes of her best friend. The curly haired boy tried to think what to do, trying not to panic as he watched his best friend suffocate. A distant memory of years ago surfaced. He had been frightened breathless by a nightmare and his mother's calming touch restored the air in his lungs. Worth a try.  
"Eponine, it's okay. Breath. Just breath. In and out. In, out, you're okay. You're okay." Inside the calm demeanor, Enjolras was silently praying. Slowly and soothing, he drew circles on her back. It started as a small cough and exploded into a desperate gasp and heave for air. Despite this, Enjolras kept up his mantra of encouraging words. Shuddering and panting, the girl slowly regained her breath. Enjolras led Eponine in deep breathing exercises as she calmed down. Just as she seemed to be doing better, the doctor burst into the room with Marius hot on his heels. Both visibly calmed when they saw Eponine was breathing, living, and a okay ( Marius' words).  
"Well, Ms. Eponine you gave us a scare. Do you mind? We will have to run some tests to see what happened." The tests took two hours to complete. Marius left in the beginning at Eponine's request, but Enjolras refused to leave her side; no one would care if he never got home. It was concluded that her brain had been almost paralyzed during the wave of pain she felt. She would be fine but would be on an oxygen tank and breathing monitor for the next forty-eight hours. It was dark when she finally settled back down in her hospital bed.

"Enjolras, you have school tomorrow. Go home." Even though her voice was thin, it held command. The blond nervously ruffled his hair and laughed a bit.

"Yeah, speaking of home and a place to live, I was wondering if you wanted to come and...you know...I was wondering if you wanted to come live with me when you get out of the hospital. Azelma made me promise to never let you go back to your father. And if you don't want to keep your friends from worrying, at least come for Azelma's sake. Please, Eponine, you heard the doctor. Next time you might..." Eponine looked into the pleading eyes of the marble statue and felt any objections slip away like oil.

She didn't want to worry her friends, but she didn't want to impose. Although, it was Enjolras, and he already asked if she wanted to live with him when she told him about her fucked up life. Besides, she had no other option.

"I don't really have any other option, now do I?" Enjolras was so jubilant after winning that he didn't even think, just acted, which led to his lips pressed on her cheek briefly then him jumping up and down like a toddler on a juice-box induced sugar high. Eponine felt her face flush a deep red. The kiss had been delicate and warm; his lips were so soft and gentle. It felt like a butterfly had landed on her cheek.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This is great! Now I know you are safe! You have no idea how much this means to me." Twin smiles were exchanged.

"I think I have some idea. Hey, what did the police say? Did they catch him?" Enjolras deflated like a balloon.

"No. When they got there, it was empty. There wasn't a soul in sight. The only thing there was was bloodstains, yours not Azelma's. Your father got away." A frustrated sigh came from Eponine's plump lips, followed then by a yawn. A sudden urge to kiss the beautiful angel in the bed overwhelmed Enjolras. He started to move forward as if in a dream, then came to senses and pressed a kiss to the top of the brunette head instead.

"Get some sleep, 'Ponine. I'll come back tomorrow. Promise." The golden boy's voice was serene and tranquil, free of worry or fear. Eponine grabbed his hand tiredly and murmured,

"Can you stay until I fall asleep? I..." Enjolras just smiled, cutting her off by sitting in the chair. The sepia toned eyes drooped shut as the lips beneath them turned upward. True to his word, Enjolras stayed until Eponine's breath evened out and also long after. He sat watching over her like a guardian angel. No one would touch her on his watch. She would be safe and worry free. She would rest undisturbed. And she did.

**Tell me what you think! Now I have to go cry in the corner because I am listening to Death of Gavroche as I write this.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi! So yeah, thank you for all of your reviews! I would have updated sooner but my friend and I had talent show practice and my dad came home last night from overseas so yay!**

Chapter 10: Heaven's Embrace**  
**The day finally came for Eponine to be discharged from the hospital. The sun looked down from its sentinel post in the sky while the wind brought a cold edge to the day. Every Amis and Cosette waited in a huge group outside the front door of the hospital holding signs, flowers, and gifts for their crushed flower. Feuilly and Madeleine held up a huge banner that both art students had painted and designed to read Welcome Back, 'Ponine! Inside the tall medical center, the doctor was giving Eponine one last check up. Per usual, Enjolras was right next to her throughout the process.

"Well, Ms. Eponine you are free to go! I'll see you in three weeks to check on your ribs and stitches." The pair of teens thanked the man, who was glad to finally have that weird group of teens out if his hair. I mean seriously, they came in with no clothes on. Eponine and Enjolras walked to the elevator with Eponine being supported and helped around by Enjolras. The pair made it to the metal elevator at the end of the long hall and rode down in silence, with Eponine holding tight to Enjolras' arm; he didn't mind at all.**  
**When they got to the ground floor and the doors slid open, the golden boy turned to his friend.**  
**"Ready?" A look was accompanied by,**  
**"To get outta this white hell? Yeah." It was understandable that the girl hated hospitals. To her, they were dreary places where you go to die; they symbolized a sad existence. They only happy thing that came from hospitals was a baby, but that didn't always work out.**  
**"I have your room set up, but it needs to be decorated. Maybe when you get better we can paint it and jazz it up a bit." This prospect brought a trill of excitement to the healing girl's heart. Eponine, what is the matter with you, she chided herself. Enjolras was her best friend, nothing more, nothing less.**  
**"That would be awesome! We should also do your room; it lacks personality...Enjolras?" The blond boy looked down, acknowledging his name.

"Thank you. Thank you for everything!" Even though they were in the middle of the lobby, Eponine wrapped her bony arms around his firm torso. A benign smile softened the marble as the statue drew the delicate girl into his chest. A moment of pure bliss encompassed the pair, making hearts quicken. Enjolras almost started to panic. What was wrong with him? But as soon as Eponine pulled away, his heart returned to normal.**  
**"Time to go face our friends!" The girl's cheerful trill glued the smile that was about to slid off of the marble statue. The pair hobbled out of the sliding glass doors into the waiting arms of their friends.**  
**"'Ponine!" was the collective cry of happiness from the Amis. The rag tag group surround their flower like a a swarm of bees, buzzing with excitement. Hands and arms vied for a chance to hug the roughed up flower.**  
**"Party!" shouted the usually drunk Grantaire. Eponine and Enjolras exchanged a glance saying, what the hell. It was a celebration for Eponine, and besides, it was about time to do something fun.**  
**Line break**  
**Once again, the group congregated at Grantaire's house( his parents were always out of town). Eponine and Enjolras were the last to arrive again because they chose to stop off at his- their house, so Eponine could get some other clothes on besides her nightgown. Enjolras showed her to her room. It was simple but beautiful to the girl who had lived in nothing but dirty old apartments full of criminals, drowning in sorrow and pain.

"Oh Enjolras!" The furniture set consisted of a bed, desk, and dresser, all white. In the dresser were some basics in the clothes department, all the clothes Enjolras had stored up. The ecstatic girl rounded on her friend and encircled him in her arms.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" A small chuckled was elicited from the lips of the golden boy.

"No problem. You deserve this. Now hurry up and change. The others are waiting for you." Enjolras waited in the kitchen for his friend to get dressed. It seemed like ages to him, but it was worth it when she came out. Eponine was in the long sleeved purple dress that she never gave back to Grantaire and a pair of black tights Cosette gave to Enjolras to add to his new room mate's wardrobe.

"You look stunning Eponine!" A blush was painted on her cheeks at this comment.

"Thanks. Now let's go!" The pair were walking up to the door when they heard a crash from inside. Enjolras peered through the french doors as Marius came flying down the hallway and into a room across from the front door. Both on the outside exchanged a glance before doubling over in laughter. What did Marius do this time?

'Chetta and Joly ran down the hall obviously searching for Marius. Cosette drifted behind them, then noticed the pair cracking up just beyond the threshold.

"Oh, hello! Did you see Marius?" was the greeting as the best friends were let in the house. Wordlessly, their fingers pointed to the door Marius cowered behind. Joly ripped open the door, looking murderous.

"Hi?" Marius offered weakly. All the hypochondriac did was pull the coward to his feet and shove him out the door, the slammed the french doors violently.

"You don't want to know," 'Chetta assured, then turned to Joly, whispering calming, sweet words in his ear. Eponine and Enjolras both had a hard time keeping straight faces as Marius pounded on the door. Even Cosette took no mercy on the boy. What did he do?

The little group drifted to the kitchen in which all the Amis were gathered. Applause started up the second Eponine walked through the door. Smiles were passed around, shared by all. They group ate and talked late into the night, forgetting all about Marius until Eponine asked what he had done this time.

"Shit! We left him locked out!" Combeferre ran tot the door and opened it for a shivering Marius. Hot chocolate was put in his hand and a blanket around his shoulders. Each Amis found a way to avoid Eponine's question of what had got Marius locked out, which bothered Enjolras slightly. It must have been something about Eponine. That boy.

"Who wants to play Spin the Bottle?" Only Enjolras scoffed with,

"What are we, twelve?" But the golden boy sucked it up because Eponine was fine with playing.

"Okay, so I'll start, and it is like Truth or Dare. We take turns spinning." Grantaire spun the bottle on the table they were all seated around. It spun round and round and round until it landed on Bahorel. Laughter crashed like a tsunami. The alcohol lover shrugged and shove his pair of whiskey tasting lips onto Bahorel. The unlucky boy was blushing madly. He gave the bottle a halfhearted spin, and it landed on Grantaire.

"Shit." This circle went on for five more kisses until the bottle landed on Cosette. The sweet girl blanched at the thought of kissing Grantaire but puckered up anyways. Marius had to take several breaths to avoid knocking Grantaire's lights out. Cosette landed on Feuilly who landed on Madeleine.

"Lucky bastard," muttered Marius. Madeleine landed on 'Chetta, which was awkward. 'Chetta had to kiss Bossuet; he in turn had to kiss Enjolras.

"Wait!" Eponine knew what was on the golden boy's mind as he seemed mildly upset. Bossuet paused inches from Enjolras' lips. His blue eyes warned her to stay silent, but she wouldn't let him go through with that. The Amis all looked at her.

"Enjolras hasn't had his first kiss." The Amis all went slack jawed. The marble statue blushed deep burgundy color. "So it should be at least be by a girl." And with that the bold girl planted a light but warm kiss on the puzzled boy's lips. Shock overwhelmed his being, but soon it registered he liked it. He liked being kissed by Eponine! She pulled away all to soon for him, blushing a bit, but he was positive he was worse.

"There. Now we can proceed." After that, the game lost all meaning and the Amis broke into small groups to talk. The girls went over to discuss about hair, makeup, and boys. Eponine mostly just listened, not wanting to be asked anything. But across the room, Enjolras was being interrogated by Courfeyrac and Jehan.

"So how was kissing Eponine?" The blond boy sighed a bit.

"It was...unexpectedly warm, like kissing fire or heaven. It was...nice." Courfeyrac and Jehan exchanged glances of glee.

"You like Eponine!" Both boys chorused as if they had been practicing, which was probably true.

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do! You said her kiss was nice!"

"Let me remind you that I have never been kissed before in my life! I have nothing to compare it to!" The interrogators stroked their imaginary beards.

"True, but you still like her."

"No I don't!" At this point Enjolras was getting frustrated. He didn't like Eponine! Not like that! At least, he thought so. Courfeyrac and Jehan backed off.

"Fine, fine, but seriously. I would get a move on." Courfeyrac sauntered off, smirking as he went. Jehan put a hand on Enjolras' shoulder.

"He's right. Eponine is beautiful, but you aren't the only one who has noticed." And that thought was what disturbed Enjolras for the rest of the night. Unless he was thinking about Eponine's soft lips on his. Then he was in heaven's embrace.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi! So I had Confirmation and my family was in so no time to update :(. But now I am back! On with the story!**

**Chapter 11: Better Tomorrow**

"I totally did not miss this place." Eponine was escorted down the locker lined hall by the ever present Enjolras. People bustled past busily, barely sparing a glance at the dark honey haired girl. A smile cracked the marble exterior into bits, which reformed harder at the sight of Montparnasse. A slick smile slid onto his pasty face. Eponine pressed back into the protective boy behind her as the juvenile delinquent appeared before the pair.

"What do you want?" Enjolras stood up to his full six foot height, towering over the five foot five Eponine and five ten Montparnesse. The greasy haired boy shrank back a bit. It was common knowledge that you don't mess with Alexander Enjolras, his friends, or Eponine. If you do, most likely the nurse will become your new best friend. The towering marble statue known as Enjolras stepped slightly in front of Eponine protectively, trying to shield her from Montparnesse's view.

"I wish ta talk ta the girly hidin' 'hind ya, 'lone if ya please." A fist closed on the back of the red jacket of Enjolras, a signal which let him know not to leave her alone with the creep blocking their way down the hall.

"Anything you say to her can be said in front of me or it isn't that important." A twisted smile marred the face of the most wanted teenager in the U.S., not that anyone knew that he was wanted. A cackle burst free from the pale lips of the creeper. Eponine pulled at the back of Enjolras' coat slightly. A hand slipped back to hold her hanging one. A firm squeeze let the shaking girl know that she was going to be okay. Enjolras would die before he let Montparnesse touch her again.

"Fine, pretty boy. Just wan'ed 'Ponine ta know 'Zelm was much betta at tha' 'ole sex thang than she was. 'Zelm actually did the sex, not struggle like a fish outta wata." The slap resounded through the now silent hallways. Both Enjolras and Montparnesse were standing shell-shocked at the small, furious pixie in between them.

"DO NOT SPEAK OF MY SISTER, YOU FUCKING CREEP! DO NOT SAY HER NAME! LEAVE AZELMA OUT OF IT! JUST LEAVE US THE FUCK ALONE! YOU'RE A FUCKING MONSTER! I WISH YOU WOULD FUCKING DIE, YOU FUCKING MAN BITCH! GO TO HELL AND ROT!" Eponine turned and ran through the crowd, melting into the student body. Montparnesse rolled his eyes.

"Well, it was true." The echoing crack made everyone wince and 'ooh'. Blood burst in an eruption from the now broken nose of Montparnesse.

"What the fuck is wrong-" Enjolras cut the blood covered male off by slamming him into the lockers, holding him off the ground by his collar. The crystalline blue eyes were as hard as diamonds and as cold as the tundra.

"You stay the hell away from Eponine, savvy? You stay away from her and Azelma, you little fuck. You stay away from them, you got that? DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!" The bleeding boy nodded ferociously, more frightened than he had ever been in his entire life.

"Good." Enjolras let the monster drop to a heap unceremoniously on the tile floor. The hall was silent as the grave, and the sea parted for the furious statue that wasn't so marble now. The bell broke the stupor of the student body, but all were still in awe of what they saw. In their dreamlike state, no one gave a thought to Montparnesse who was left on the floor bleeding a puddle of red water.

LINE BREAK

"Why is it that whenever Montparnesse, Eponine, and Enjolras are involved someone always ends up bloody or hurt?" Joly sighed after hearing Eponine explain why Montparnesse walked into HOPE with a bloody nose and a bruised cheek. Enjolras rolled his eyes.

"That creep had it coming to him," he muttered sullenly and pushed his pasta around the Tupperware with his fork. The Amis couldn't agree more.

"GUYS!" Grantaire sighed at the sound of a voice.

"Here comes lover boy, hooray." This was said low and sarcastically, so only Bahorel and Bossuet heard. Sniggers made everyone look their way, but all decided it was better not to know when it came to those three. Marius bounded up looking worried but ever glowing from love. Surprise surprise.

"Guy, I need help." Enjolras looked up curiously but not surprised.

"What subject are you failing this time?" Marius blushed under the freckles.

"Romance. I need help planning a date for Cosette and I. Can you help, Enjy?" A glare came form the cold statue.

"Marius, two things. One, don't call me Enjy. My name is Enjolras. Second, I have ninety-nine problems, but your lonely soul isn't one. No." Laughter exploded from the Amis.

"Aw, come on! Help me! And 'Ponine can call you Enjy. Why can't I?" Marius' whiny voice overpowered all stray giggles. Eponine smiled wickedly.

"Because I'm special." Marius scowled then turned to her.

"Eponine, can you help me? I mean, you're a girl and everything." The group at the table froze. Not this again. Each head was chanting a little prayer she would say no. If she said no then it would mean she was over Marius.

"Um...sure." Marius broke into a huge grin. He didn't even hug her, just turned and shouted,

"Thanks!" All eyes were on the slightly hurt girl. Wow, some friend he was. Enjolras tentatively wrapped an arm around her shoulders, all while crying on the inside. She still loved Pontmercy didn't she. He didn't have a chance of ever winning her heart. Chiding himself, Enjolras pushed his thoughts of self pity away; he needed to focus on 'Ponine.

"Are you alright?" A wave of fury overcame the brown-haired girl. She stood up, teed off.

"I am fine! Why do you guys always assume something is wrong?" Enjolras looked taken aback. What was she going on about? They were just concerned for her well beingand emotional state.

"Well, Marius-"

"Is just a boy! I am fine! I'm not some delicate pansy that can't deal with shit! I've been dealing with shit my entire life! A boy isn't gonna come along and change that! I can take care of myself!"

"I know, but you-" Enjolras broke off into silence. Better to say nothing at all. If she didn't confirm it then he could still have his fantasy.

"I what? What, Enjolras?" Eponine spit the words out as if they had a bitter taste. The curly haired youth looked to the table, tears wanting to force themselves out. She didn't love him. She didn't love him. She didn't love him. She didn't love him.

"You love Marius." The whisper sent Eponine into a huff.

"SO? I CAN HANDLE HEARTBREAK! I DON'T NEED YOU GYS TO TAKE CARE OF ME! I CAN HANDLE THIS! I'M NOT WEAK!" Courfeyrac stepped in.

"We know, Eponine, but-"

"NO YOU DON'T KNOW! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I HAD TO GO THROUGH! YOU KNOW NOTHING OF WHAT I FACED DAILY! SO DON'T SAY YOU KNOW BECAUSE NONE OF YOU HAVE HAD TO WORRY ABOUT YOUR LITTLE BROTHER BEING KILLED FOR RUNNGIN AWAY OR WORRY ABOUT YOUR SISTER BEING ON HER OWN WITH MONSTERS PRAYING ON HER INNOCENCE! NONE OF YOU KNOW SO STOP!" Tears started to leak out of the hazel eyes of the girl. Jehan stepped up to the girl, gently taking hold of her shoulders.

"Eponine, we aren't trying to say you're weak or we know what you went through. We just want to make sure you aren't going to get hurt. You know how you feel about Azelma? We feel the same about you. We worry because you are our family and family worries about each other. It's what we do. We aren't saying you're weak because you are so strong, and we are so proud. We just love you; we love and don't want to see you hurt." Jehan held the weeping girl in a hug with the Amis looking on, and Enjolras trying to keep the tears from running out of his eyes. That was how lunch ended for them: Enjolras and Eponine crying an everyone else watching, waiting for a better day.


	12. Chapter 12

**So hi! Please don't kill me, but I had to perform a bunch and I had homework, dance, Annie and the works. But thank you for all of the reivews. I love you all for them! On with the show! BTW there will be some down time chappters before we get back into the heavy stuff.**

**Chpater 12: Neither minded**

Three weeks. Three long, painful, heart breaking weeks for the resident marble statue as he watched the girl of his dreams slip away. Slip like ribbons of water through his cupped hand, flowing out of his reach forever. Marius already had Cosette. Why did he have to take Eponine too? It wasn't fair; it just wasn't.

Eponine was in turmoil. As she helped Marius plan the perfect date with flowers and gifts and the works, she felt almost nothing. It didn't hurt like she thought it would, but she didn't feel happy or excited for the lovely couple. It felt like she was stuck in a numb, dense twilight of indifference with no exit in sight. Each day was like a dream, not hers like it belonged to someone else.

Each day was hazy and the same with no mirth or ire or anything at all. Both the marble statue and little flower seemed to be dying slowly. Alive but not living; breathing but not taking deep enough breaths. The Amis looked on from the sidelines, silently mourning the two dead friends. Most blamed Pontmercy and wouldn't talk to him. He kidnapped Eponine and broke Enjolras. Way to go Marius.

The day came with a biting cold. The sun hid its' smiley, bright face behind the fan of clouds, shyly watching the world through the dark gray lace. The two ghosts floated through their classes, then neglected to go to lunch, instead drifting to the library to do God knows what, but Abby, Grantaire's girlfriend for three weeks, claimed to have seen them actually talking. It was a miracle to the Amis.

"I have got a brilliant idea to draw forth the turtle from their shells of despair!" Courfeyrac screamed to practically the entire lunch room, which fell silent at the exclamation from the jokester. Every single head turned to the dark curly haired boy, standing on the table of the Amis. The group of crazy people tried to stifle their laughter.

"Uh, carry on my fellow students." The boy climbed off the lunch table and gestured to the Amis to lean in. "Alright, this is what we do. Bahorel, ask Eponine to tutor you after school in whatever subject you are failing this time. Make sure she doesn't get a chance to tell Enjolras. Grantiare, you will nick Eppy's phone, then give it back to her tomorrow. I'll have Enjolras come over, then I'll "throw up" and send him home after about thirty minutes. Then after Eppy doesn't come home for awhile, he will call her, but R has her phone like I already explained. When he asks if she is with any of us, say no and act worried. Then when she walks into their apartment, they will both be so... I don't know. They'll just be on speaking terms again and back to normal." Blank stares met the plan with gusto.

"You actually thought that through down to the last little detail. The plan makes sense and applies to the situation. And it is doable. Are you sure you aren't Enjolras in disguise?" Courfeyrac stuck his tongue out at the philosophical Combeferre.

"I'm not stupid like R over here."

"I resent that." Grantaire flipped the jokester off nonchalantly like he did it everyday, which he did.

**Line breaks are awesome!**

"Eponine!" Courfeyrac watched with Jehan as Bahorel and Grantaire caught up to Eponine before she exited the building. Enjolras was being stalled by Combeferre in the classroom.

"Phase one: go!"

"Hey, 'Ponine, can you help me with chemistry? I don't understand what the heck is going on. Please?" The flower seemed to shrink back from the pair of mischief makers. Grantaire saw she was about to say no and nudged her encouragingly, extracting her phone from her backpack pocket simultaneously.

"Come on Eppy! Help this poor stupid boy out." The dark haired girl delivered a flick to the side of Grantaire's head before sighing.

"It's not like I have anything better to do." As the trio walked off, Courfeyrac and Jehan exchanged high fives at this small success.

"Alrighty then. Now, for the marble statue." Rubbing his hands together like a mad scientist, Courfeyrac crept up behind the marble statue, standing like a pillar in the middle of the hall, probably looking for Eponine. As the creeper crept closer only one thought was on his mind: life is too important to be taken seriously.

"BOO!" Enjolras whirled around in surprise, the name Eponine on his lips because let's face it. That is totally something the only female Amis would do. As frustrated sigh deflated Apollo.

"What do you want, Fey?" The defeated tone got a twinge of sympathy from the joker. Slinging an arm around the shoulder of the slightly taller boy, Courfeyrac let a smile slip onto his face.

"I want you to come over for awhile. You seem really down lately, and we haven't hung out in awhile. So, you game?" The blond head was about to shake no when Fey said, "Great! This is going to be just the thing you need to get you out of your rut." As he was pulled along, Enjolras though, I highly doubt it.

**Another awesome linebreak!**

The laughter might have been caused by the root beer (cause let's face it, Enjolras will not be drinking any other kind of beer) or the blond could have been genuinely happy, but Courfeyrac decided it was time to keep the plan moving along. He clutched his stomach as if he were in pain, then vaulted off the bed and slammed the bathroom door behind him. Barely containing giggles, the jokester emptied the contents of one of those fake throw up things you can buy at those Halloween stores. He even started retching to make it more convincing.

"Are you alright?" True to his nature, Enjolras was at the door of the locked bathroom. Courfeyrac stopped "throwing up" for a second.

"Yea, it was just something I ate. You should probably go home. You know what Joly says..."

"But I don't want to leave you all alone!" Courfeyrac rolled his eyes. Enjolras always tried to be so noble; why couldn't he be normal and leave like any other sane person?

"I'm fine. I just don't want you to be sick, so leave or I'll call Joly!" Enjolras sighed. What was with Courfeyrac? Most sick people wanted help. Well whatever.

"Fine, fine. But call me if you need anything. Okay?" Courfeyrac nodded before remembering Enjolras couldn't see him.

"Okay. Just go. Eponine must be wondering where you are." And from the window, Courfeyrac watched as Enjolras pulled away from his house a couple of minutes later. Flipping open his phone, he texted Bahorel.

**Yet again, Line break**

_Enjy just left. Keep Eponine for at least another hour. _Bahorel read the text and barely suppressed a wicked smile. Yes! This was going to be great!

"So, what are ionic compounds again?" Eponine mentally sighed. She had told him four times already! His poor teachers. Barely keeping form banging her head on the table of the library, she explained again three more times before Bahorel could repeat it back. This went on for an hour and half.

**Line break, but this next scene happens in the hour and thirty minutes**

Enjolras watched the clock. Eponine should have been home when he got in. The marble statue had half expected her to attack him for being late. Hey, at least then she would talk to him about something other than homework. Thirty had passed since he had walk into the silent apartment. The memory of how quiet and lonely thing had been before Eponine crashed on him like a tidal wave.

Finally, he couldn't take it. Mustering up all the courage he possessed, the marble man dialed his best friend. The phone immediately went to voice mail. A panic started to rise. Last time this had happened... He tried to call her again, again, again.

On the other side of town Grantaire watched as Enjolras repeatedly tried to contact Eponine. It pained him to know that the blond was probably frantic by now and on borderline hysteria. With the bitter picture of his friend's anxiety attack, the one called R down another gulp of alcohol.

"Combeferre are you...Cosette have you...Joly do you know...'Chetta is 'Ponine..." Going through the Amis Enjolras called everyone of them, even tried to contact Gavroche who said,

"Nope. S'rry cap'in. Tell Eps to call when she gets in." With that dismal result, Enjolras felt his heart race. Eponine was no where to be found. What if her father had gotten her? Or Montparnasse? What if she was dead or kidnapped or...right in front of him...

At the moment Enjolras was pacing back and forth contemplating her whereabouts, Eponine trudged through the door. The second the bright blue eyes locked on her, the little flower found herself in Enjolras' arms. The tight, warm hug was like bread to a starving man. Eponine was sorry when it ended three minutes later.

"Where were you?! I was worried sick." A smile graced the lips of the now reassured blond. He fingered the dark hair on her forehead fondly, gently, happy. His voice was very low and calming to the stressed girl. Unconsciously, she leaned into the touch, feeling her heart flutter.

"I was tutoring Bahorel. He needed it." A laugh grew from the lips of the tall male.

"Why didn't yo answer your phone? I was...thought something happened to you." The blond blushed at his blunder, but Eponine was unaware of anything.

"I lost it. I can't find it anywhere." A silence, albeit an awkward one, hovered in the air. The pair stood just relishing in the fact that they had made amends or whatever. They were still connected by Enjolras' hand on Eponine's hip, her hand on his chest, and Enjolras' other hand in her hair. They seemed to be getting closer, closer til they were just a breath apart. The chiming of the clock brought them to jump away from each other, both suddenly cold without the other. They just stood, looking everywhere but nowhere.

"Soooooooo..." Enjolras felt like a fool standing there. Eponine let out a little breathy laugh at her best friend. He was so different around her, she noticed. He seemed more like clay then marble.

"How about we watch a movie?" Enjolras smiled, nodding. He went into the kitchen to make popcorn while Eponine picked the Disney movie _The Hunchback of Notre Dame. _ They eventually settled to watch the epic about the disfigured but kind Quasimodo, beautiful and cunning Esmeralda, and courageous and just Phoebes. They conversed lazily through out the entire thing, caught in the hazy of Disney magic and their attraction to each other. In that moment, they knew what it was like to be in the movies. Perfect, magical, and flat out romantic, and neither of them minded.


	13. Chapter 13

**So I have to admit, I am not pleased with the lack of reviews from you guys. So before I post another chapter I now will ask for 5-10 reviews at least. Thank you for the feedback when you give it. Now on with the story!**  
"I'm bored!" It was Saturday, sunny, cold, and boring. Enjolras sighed as Eponine complained again. He was bored too, but would never admit it. Closing his laptop gently but firmly, he swirled around in his spinny chair to face the dark haired girl. They simply stared at each other. Not even thinking. Just staring. Finally Enjolras blinked.

"Ha! I win... Now what?" Eponine looked down at the fearless leader from her standing position. The blond racked his brain for ideas, trying to ignore how close she was to him. Then it hit him. Of course! It was perfect!

"Alright Ms. Eppy, we are going...to..." Ms. Eppy, as she was now dubbed, had to look up at Her friend who decided to stand up. Their bodies were pressed against each other, and their breaths mingled in the close proximity.

"Going to what? Not getting any younger down here!" A smile painted the lips of the giant.

"We are going to go to on a little vacation! Courfeyrac, Combeferre, Jehan, Grantaire, and Marius invited us to go with them to a beach resort about three hours from here. We leave within the hour. Go go go! Pack!" A giggle escaped the dainty lips of Eponine as Enjolras playfully chased her into her still undecorated room, then turned into his room. The pair packed swiftly and warmly, including their red coats and custom made fleece pjs from Enjolras' mother. Enjolras remembered to call his friends and say that he and Eponine were in.

"We are here! Never fear!" Jehan uncharacteristically barged through the door the second both suitcases of the respective residents were zipped up. The party of boys going on the trip trailed in behind the bold poet with Cosette following after Marius.

"Ready you two?" asked a secretly glad Courfeyrac. He had suggested the trip in a hope to set up Eponine and Enjolras and had jumped up and down in glee with Jehan and Combeferre when the marble man called to say that the pair would be accompanying the group on their trip.

"Yepperoni!" chimed a chirpy Eponine from the door of her room. Pulling her duffle bag behind her, she came out to meet her friends. "ENJOLRAS! THEY ARE HERE!" All the boys in the front hall winced at the vocals on their brunette friend. Enjolras poked his head out from behind his door and walked out with suitcase in tow.

"Mon dieu, Eps! I was within ten yards. No need to tell the neighbors!" Eponine squealed and hugged Enjolras tightly. He swung her around because of her momentum, but the Amis in the hall got excited. Maybe they would kiss.

"You used French! Oh I am so proud!" The girl pecked the golden boy's cheek before breaking away, a light blush painting both offending party's cheeks. The pair stood close as they departed. Eponine stumbled on the stairs once, but Enjolras was there to keep her from face planting.

"Thanks." was the grateful murmur. Jehan trilled like a girl at the sweet exchange, buying some glances. The seating arrangements were made by Courfeyrac so Eponine and Enjolras rode with Marius and Cosette and the rest rode with him. Enjolras quickly got sick of his car mates though.

"You know that your eyes sparkle brighter than all the stars in the sky?" Marius' flirty comments were driving Enjolras insane. Those combined with Cosette's girly giggle of course. Eponine was watching her friend out of the corner of her eye. The way his hands gripping the steering wheel to his gritted teeth tipped her off to the fact he was not enjoying the compliments nearly as much as Cosette. Surprisingly, Eponine wasn't bothered by Marius' dotting over Cosette. It didn't hurt, not even in the slightest. Odd.

"Hey, are you okay? I can turn the radio on to drown them out if you want." Eponine turned to her concerned blond friend. The sight of his bright blue eyes swept her away in an instant.

"Uh, I-I'm ok. But you look like you need a break." A sheepish grin crossed the marble face with a nod after. A wicked smirk painted itself on the lips of the blithe limbed girl.

"Enjolras?" Eponine's voice was whiny and soft. She clutched her head and braced herself with the other against the dash board. The lover talk in the backseat ceased almost immediately.

"Eponine! Are you okay?" Concern laced the voice of the driver. An inward chuckle from the girl was brought on by the thought that either Enjolras was quite the actor or he was genuinely concerned. Both were funny ideas.

"I feel nauseous. Can we stop somewhere?" A wink let the marble man know it was an act.

"Uh, yea. We will get off at the next exit."

"Okay." Eponine's whisper really helped silence the reason for her performance. Marius and Cosette watched their friends converse in silence before murmuring about how Enjolras had put his hand on Eponine's that went from her head to the arm rest. The car pulled over at a gas station right off the exit. Three of the four left the car, and Enjolras helped Eponine out of the car. She stumbled a bit but managed to walk into the gas station to disappear into the bathroom. Marius pulled Enjolras aside.

"What is going on between you and 'Ponine? Are you guys, like, a couple or something?" An annoyed huff came from the parted lips of the blond.

"No! We are just friends! Why don't any of you understand that?" At that moment Eponine walked out of the restroom looking better. Enjolras left Marius to talk to her.

"You want anything? I know Marius and Cosette are getting candy and I'm getting some peanuts-"

"Oh no you're not! You are going to live for once. You are going to get Oreo's, and I'm going to get spicy fries, and we'll share." With that, the petite girl marched to the snacks. A smile painted the marble as he followed after standing frozen for a few seconds. As the blond tried to find Eponine he wondered if she was over Marius.  
She didn't seem to mind Cosette and Marius hanging out nor did she seem hurt by their flirty comments. Maybe just maybe she was over Marius. If she was, then maybe just maybe he would have a chance with her. Maybe just maybe he could get his dream girl... if some gas station doozy didn't get there first.

Enjolras walked down an aisle to see a boy with slicked back black hair (really brown but the oil made it look black), a surfer's complexion, and an ego visible from a mile away. The greasy poser had his arm blocking Eponine's passage down the aisle and was up in the shorter brunette's personal bubble.

"So Celia did it hurt when you fell down from heaven?" At first Enjolras had no idea who the boy was talking to, but then realization brought the assumption that that was the fake name Eponine had given the creeper.

"Actually, I climbed out of hell." The guy laughed like the Joker from the old Batman shows, slightly creeping out Eponine who could see everyone of his rotting teeth. The boy leaned in close, pressing her up against the snacks in the aisle.

"Me too." The guy leaned in and..

"Celia! There you are!" The boy sprang back from 'Celia' who slid to Enjolras' side. She clutched his shirt lightly. "Who's your friend?"

"He was just going to leave me alone." The guy gawked at the giant that had come stalking up. He managed to regain his cool before he said,

"No, I was just about to kiss your sexy girlfriend. What we have we have to share, am I right? Huh? Huh?" Enjolras grabbed the hand that was going to high five him.

"No, no we don't." The boy was flipped to the ground by an angry Enjolras. The boy scrambled off the floor only to "accidentally" cop a feel on Eponine's butt, promoting her to slap the offender, making him push her over into Enjolras, causing him to break the guy's nose. Marius ran around the corner with Cosette in tow, chased by four burly men. The pair ran past with bags in their hands and called to Eponine and Enjolras to run.

"No need to tell us twice." The four Amis (honorary and real) ran to the door, throwing the exact amount on the counter of the gas station before exiting the building.

"Go go go!" The blond boy stepped on the gas to ride onto the freeway. Laughter erupted from the people in the car. A quiet settled until they all arrived at the destination. The others were already at the beach resort and checked into the suite that everyone was staying in.

"Hey you guys! How was the trip? Huh?" Enjolras threw Courfeyrac a glare.

"Three words: Marius and Cosette." Eponine laughed as Courfeyrac had the decency to cringe. The blond boy simply walked up to the room, carrying his and Eponine's bags. The smiling brunette trailed behind the marble statue like a ant following its queen/king.

"They are both doomed to fall. If not this trip...soon." The rest marched up the stairs in suit ready to face the romantic weekend.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi! So I love the amount of reviews I got! Yo guys are awesome! I would have updated sooner but we had extended annie practice and I've been fretting over a cough I have. The play in in a week and I have to yell and sing... wish me luck. Karaoke time!**

**Chapter 14: Duet with me?**

"Why must it rain on our vacation?" The second day of vacation was supposed to be sunny and pleasant. But the rain came down in sheets. The thunder and lightning outside woke everyone up at odd hours of the morning. Eponine slept the longest actually, which surprised everyone cause she usually was a light sleeper. Then again she and Enjolras had to share a room so he probably gave her ear plugs or something.

"I'm so bored!" whined Marius. Eponine flicked the freckled kid to entertain herself and Enjolras, who could barely suppress a smile. Jehan stared out the window. He was aware of why Eponine really slept in later than everyone else. She had nightmares every time there was a storm, and Enjolras had held her until she fell asleep that night. Only he fell asleep too.  
They seemed to like each other, Jehan mused, but they don't want to admit it. They needed motivation. Motivation like... Songs! It was perfect!

"Hey! Let's do karaoke!" Jehan didn't even give people a chance to protest before he paired people off. "Eppy and Enjy, Ferre and R, Me and Fey, and Marius and Sette! We will do a battle of the duets! Each couple gets to do two duets and the winner gets to pick the movie tonight! Alright go practice!" With moaning and groaning the Amis got up and split into their groups. Fey leaned over to Jehan.

"Clever Prouvaire. Very clever." The poet took a bow.

"Thank you thank you. Now maybe we could do The Confrontation from Les Misérables and What You Own from Rent." Fey responded saying,

"Given I have no knowledge of this sort of thing, sure." In a vacant bedroom on the first floor, Eponine and Enjolras already knew their two duets. They decided on both their favorites: Without You from Rent and As Long as You're Mind from Wicked.

"This is not something I ever saw myself doing," Eponine admitted. Enjolras looked up from his place across the room after running through Without You.

"Singing?" Eponine shook her head, laughing a bit all the while.

"No, messing around. I never thought I'd get the chance to just have fun with my friends or be a kid. It... it's nice. I'm glad." A light smile snaked its way onto the face of marble. The blond boy crossed the room to his friend's side to give her a hug. Both just stood in the embrace of the other. The two became one, hearts syncing, and souls intertwining. Destiny pushed the pair closer, willing them to kiss. But doubt came and pulled them apart.

"Let's get back to practicing."

Line breaks are awesome!

"Welcome ladies, gentleman, and R to the first ever Amis duet sing off! Hosted by me Fey. Now first we have Marius and Cosette who will be singing A Heart Full of Love from Les Misérables and then I'd Give it all to You. The rest will judge on a scale from 1-10. Gooooood luck!"

Marius and Cosette stood up. They were going to rock the other's worlds. The pair stood facing their audience, smiles evident.

"A heart full of love!" It was clear from the first note Marius couldn't sing but Cosette could. The Amis suffered through both duets and gave the pair a six overall. Courfeyrac ran back into the center of the living room.

"Okay so now that Marius is done murdering our ears, next is R and Ferre!" The two boys got up and said,

"Umm we didn't know any duets so..." Grantaire jumped in.

"We chose Call Me Maybe!" Laughter erupted from the onlookers as the two acted out the song. They then sang an old drinking song picked by the resident alcohol lover. They got a seven for humor. Courfeyrac and Jehan did alright and could actually sing. They acted the songs out really well surprisingly. All that was left was Eponine and Enjolras.

The golden pair stood up and faced their audience.

"We are going to sing Without You from Rent then As Long as You're Mine from Wicked." Grantaire secretly got out his phone and started filming his friends. They turned and walked to opposite sides of the room. Ponine started.

"Without you.." Her voice was beautiful. She put expression into her words that made you believe she died without Enjolras. Each word was filled with pain and longing for the man that was not ten steps from her. In truth, she did want him. She wanted him to hold her and never let her go. She wanted him to want her. She wanted to be with him. She wanted him to be her's and only her's.

"The world revives..." Enjolras felt the song in his bones. He remembered all the times he and Eponine fought or avoided each other. He had felt blue; he felt dead without her. She was the better part of him, and he loved her. End of story. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Their song concluded with the pair looking at each other over the shoulder closest to the audience. The applause was tremendous.

"Encore! Encore!" With a smile the pair started As Long as You're mine. It was beautiful. That's all that could be said. Each word from the pair seemed to be the truth. The undeniable absolute truth. To their friends it seemed as if they could do anything together. And they probably could. As long as they had each other they could probably take over the world if they wanted to.

"I think it is decided that Eppy and Enjy get to choose the movie." Nobody argued with the love loving poet. The group settled down three hours later and let the winners chose She's Out of My League. The movie was funny but the best part came afterward. Courfeyrac was the only one who managed to stay awake through the whole movie and noticed that all his comrades were asleep.

Marius was cuddling up to Cosette who had unconsciously pushed the freckled boy away. Combeferre was sprawled on the couch, his feet in Grantaire's face as the alcoholic slept on a nearby armchair. Jehan was on the floor next to Enjolras who was holding Eponine. Eponine was tucked against the marble statue's chest, protected by his arms. A flash went off from the jokester's camera, waking Jehan. The blurry eyed poet looked around then murmured,

"You should get some sleep Fey. We will all need it if we want Eponine and Enjolras to get together. It will take all of our cunning to get them to admit their feelings." Courfeyrac slid down to Jehan's side.

"Have faith. They are our friends, and we know how they work. There are ways we can get them to admit their love. We can dethrone denial and put love up in its stead." Jehan closed his eyes and murmured,

"That was very poetic. I think I'm rubbing off on you." Courfeyrac smiled mischeveiously.

"I got that from the literature book Ms. Myriel is making us read." Jehan muttered softly,

"Why am I not surprised?" And within minutes, all were slaves to their dreams.


	15. Chapter 15

**I am so so so very sorry that I didn't update sooner! My week has just been hectic and filled to the brim. I finally had a breather, so I wrote this. I have just had so much and it is a lot to take in. Please don't kill me Marius fans, but I was listening to Les Miserables and Suddenly reprise came on and my hate to Marius for being a prick inspired me. Yeah so, On with the show.**

**Chapter 15: I don't know you**

"Ugh." Eponine flopped down on the navy couch in the living room where Enjolras was doing paperwork for one of the charities he set up. It was eight o'clock on a Tuesday night and the exhausted girl had just gotten done with helping Marius plan his date with Cosette. It had been totally and utterly draining. The blind and frankly irritating boy always went to Eponine when he needed to plan a date, and really it was more of her planning than Marius. It went like so: Eponine got to Marius' house then researched restaurants, ordered flowers, planned activities around a certain day, checked the weather for the desired day, made reservations to a restaurant she approved of, and made a back up plan for everything. Then she ran both plans past Marius who sometimes didn't like either. So she went back to the drawing board or went home. This time around she had to rework the plans seven different times.

"How was it?" Enjolras barely looked up until he heard Eponine's considerably softer voice. Coming up to observe his surroundings for the first time since starting on his paperwork, the marble man noticed it was raining cats and dogs.

"Terrible. Bitch made me come up with fourteen different plans before approving one." Frowning, Enjolras put his laptop down to walk over to Eponine. The girl was slightly shaking from the cold. Her brown hair stuck to her forehead and hung limply around her shoulders. Brushing aside some slightly stiff pieces, Enjolras felt her forehead. It was a bit too warm for normal temperatures.

"You should have called me to come pick you up instead of walking through this weather." Eponine replied,

"My phone was dead."

"You could have used Marius' phone."

"He was talking to Cosette."

"Land line?"

"The Pontmercys don't have one. So I walked." Enjolras pulled the girl up. Eponine kind of fell against his chest, legs weak and tired. The strong hands of the fearless leader supported the petite girl.

"You are going to go change those clothes, then we are going to have dinner and hot tea. Understood?" Listlessly, Eponine wandered to her room to change into her wool pajamas. As she peeled the wet articles of clothing from her still too skinny to be healthy body, Eponine thought about that afternoon. She had planned out the entire date while Marius talked on the phone to Cosette. Then he dismissed her like a master would to his slave! Anger boiled in the dark pit of her stomach as Eponine remembered this. She was tired of being Marius' slave, tired of being in the friend zone, and tired of being his dog. She didn't want to be in a relationship with Marius or anything, but she did want to be treated like Marius treated his other friends.

The second Eponine walked into the kitchen her nose was filled with good smells that tickled a bit. The marble man turned as he heard the soft footsteps of the pixie. A soft sneeze echoed through the silent apartment, starling some cat at the window sill.

"Can I kill Marius?" Enjolras set down two big bowls of chicken noodle soup on the table accompanied by two steaming hot cups of chai tea with honey. Eponine laughed then doubled over in a coughing fit. The golden boy guided the coughing fairy to a chair to recover.

"All good." Enjolras sat across from Eponine and repeated,

"Can I please kill Marius?" The pair said grace and ate their soup silently. A thought kept running ramped through his mind. Why was Marius using Eponine to do this? Didn't he know what his girlfriend liked, and couldn't he see that Eponine didn't want to waste her afternoons planning his little date with his frankly kind of irritating girlfriend?

"No." This answer visably annoyed Enjolras. The couple sat down, said grace, and started to eat.

"Well, then can I at least talk to him about walking all over you?"

"No."

"Dammit Ponine!" His exclamation startled the smaller girl. She looked her friend in the eyes, trying to read the emotions swirling in their blue depths.

"Enjolras, what's wrong?"

"I'm sick of seeing you hurt. It is always one thing or another, but you never seem happy these days. You just seem...off. I can't explain it. You are just hurt. And it hurts me. I don't like seeing you hurt." His voice was very childish and soft. The touched girl hugged her friend tightly as if to say I'm okay.

"I'm sorry Enjolras, but I have to help Marius. I already said yes." An idea struck Enjolras with the force of a freight train.

"Then tell him you have a date next time." Eponine just stared. Enjolras took her hands. " Next time he asks you if you will help him, say you have a date with me. And we can go get pizza, watch a movie, go to a show, something. It'll be fun, and you won't be lying. Say yes?" Eponine bit her lip shyly as happiness bubbled up in the pit of her stomach.

"Yes."

Time skip: Next Friday

"And that should be it." A sigh of relief came from Marius. Enjolras could really talk and talk and talk. Marius wondered if it was just him because everyone else seemed fine. Even Eponine. That girl puzzled him. She used to follow him around like a puppy, but not any more. It was slightly irritating not to have someone doing everything for him. He thought she liked him.

As Marius watched Enjolras cross the room to Eponine's side, the freckled boy's eyes narrowed. Apollo was what some called him.

"More like Horai." Bitterness welled up in Marius. That golden haired freak was taking his servant. It was unacceptable Of course no one in the Amis knew that was why he hung around them at all ( the poor people could die in a hole for all he cared), but it was true. Marius didn't really like any of them; it was called acting. But he really hated Enjolras.

"You go ahead and wait in the car. I'll be out in a second." The previously thought man of marble cracked for that little tramp. Marius saw it along with everyone else, but he didn't think they would make a good pair. Like it or not, Enjolras was a... bourgeois as Madame Roux put it. Eponine was just a little nobody. It wouldn't be proper. So Marius intervened.

"Eponine!" The girl turned to see him chasing her out the door. They stopped to talk three paces from the door.

"Yes Marius?" Time to keep them apart.

"Can you help me plan another date with Cosette?" Eponine looked back to the Student Government room. Marius noticed how she shuffled her feet and bit her lip as if she were nervous.

"I can't. I'm...um...going on a...date I guess you'd call it with Enjolras tonight. Sorry." NO NO NO! That spoils everything! Shit!

"Wow. I can't believe it. You are going on a date." Eponine regarded Marius warily.

"Why is it so hard to believe?" Her tone betrayed how ill at ease she was. Marius inwardly smirk. This was long overdue. How in the world did Eponine think she belonged with people like him and Enjolras? She was deluding herself. Time to break her illusion.

"Well, I mean, look at you. You are hardly the prettiest girl in the world. You wear those dull color and that horrible newsies cap. This isn't the 20th century. And then you aren't that smart. I mean you're smart just not like really smart. You have no confidence in yourself, and it shows. It really does. Besides you don't belong with people like Enjolras and me. You are just an ugly, dull, and stupid tramp. You need to stop deluding yourself Eponine. You don't belong with people like us. You belong with the scum of the streets. Go be with your kind you slut, and let me be with mine."

Enjolras flew out the door to see a smirking Marius and a close to tears Eponine. Enjolras had overheard the last bit of what Marius said to Eponine, and the golden boy was not happy. His fist connected with Marius' nose, which broke on impact. The boy fell to the ground, and the rest of the Amis ran out of the classroom after hearing Marius' cry of pain.

"Enjolras what -" Courfeyrac started but was interrupted by a furious Enjolras.

"That...that...little piece of shit called Eponine a slut. He called her a slut with no remorse or guilt. He said she was ugly and should go back to her kind 'the scum of the streets'." All turned to Marius. Eponine turned into Enjolras' chest as the giant wrapped his arms around the little flower. Marius turned beet red and tried to explain his actions.

"Well I...um...well it's true. She is nothing but a little slut. She has terrible parents and was brought up to be just like them." Grantaire and Bahorel had to be held back from the rat at their feet. Eponine walked up to Marius after he stood up. She stared into his mucky green orbs. Marius became slightly uncomfortable and pushed her viciously away. She fell to the ground, looking up at her terrorist.

"Where you belong, my little slut." Three things happened at once. Enjolras punched Marius while Grantaire jumped on the back of the freckled kid and Bahorel tried to hang Marius by his feet. This resulted in Marius being hung upside down from two hooks on the ceiling with many bruises and a sore back. Joly and Chetta helped Eponine up, and the true Amis walked away ignoring Marius' pleas to let him down. Jehan hung back. Looking Marius in the face he recited,

"Who have you become/ What have you done/ Will you rip them apart/ When they have only just found each other/ Why can't you just accept it/ This is not your world." The poet let Marius down then continued.

"You try that again and next time I'll leave you for the teachers to find you in the morning." Slipping away, Jehan left Marius in the hall on his butt wondering how everything went so wrong. Out in the parking lot, the friends solemnly parted ways. Eponine was silent on the way back to her and Enjolras' apartment. Enjolras had the wheel turning in his head on how he could cheer Eponine up. An idea struck him when they pulled into the parking lot around their complex. The golden boy faced Eponine and asked,

"Are you still up for that movie?"

**Done! Again I'm so sorry it is so late. I have finals this coming week, so I'm going to predict next weekend it when you should start looking. Tell me what you think! **


	16. Chapter 16

**Okay. Hi. Please don't murder me. I just graduated this weekend/week so we had lots going on. Please don't kill me. **

**Chapter16: What Makes You Beautiful**

"Eponine!" The girl ran from the red sports car without even responding to Enjolras' question. The concerned blond hopped out of his car into the heavy rain. Slipping a bit on the pavement, the marble man managed to grab Eponine's wrist to halt her flee.

"Eponine, please. Please look at me." The girl slowly turned her head to look into the depths of Enjolras' shocking blue eyes. Tears flowed freely form the big brown eyes that captured Enjolras' heart. The rain pounded and fell around the pair of lovers. Electricity cracked behind them. Neither moved.

"Eponine." One word was all it took. The dam broke, and Enjolras found a small body, shaking with sobs, pressed to his.

"H-he's right. I'm a slut, a n-nobody. I-I don't b-b-belong with you g-g-guys." Warm tears mingled with the cold rain. Enjolras shook his head.

"No, Eps, he was _wrong._ So very wrong. We love you. And you're not a slut. You are practically perfect in every way." A hiccupy laugh escaped the lips of the tiny girl.

"Mary Poppins? Really?" Enjolras shrugged, smiling.

"Come on. I believe you owe me a date." Giggling, Eponine allowed herself to be led into her and Enjolras' apartment. They passed their very old neighbor Mr. Mabeuf on the way up. The man immediately asked what was the matter with Eponine, then he gave her a flower from one of his many plants. Turning to Enjolras, he said,

"Now you better have defended your wife to whom ever insulted such a beautiful lady." Both teenagers blushed, and Mr. Mabeuf bade them a good night before they could tell him that they were _not_ married. When the pair came to their door, Enjolras extracted the key from his pocket and held the door for Eponine. They decided to order pizza (pineapple and pepperoni) and ate by candlelight. The beautiful Acacia blossom that Mr. Mabeuf gave them went into a vase in the center of the table.

"So what movie do you want to watch?" The Netflix was open and ready for use.

"Let's watch 10 Things I Hate About You." A bit reluctant, Enjolras turned it on. It actually turned out to be really funny. At the part where Heath Ledger's character serenaded Kat in front of the entire school, Eponine sighed.

'What's wrong?"

"Nothing 'Ras. I just think it would be nice if... never mind." Enjolras returned his attention to the film, but his mind wandered. Hmm. The possibilities.

**Three days later. Eponine's Birthday.**

Eponine sat by herself in the cafeteria. She hadn't seen any of the Amis that day except for Enjolras, who was very distant. No one wished her happy birthday. No one talked to her. No one remembered her. And frankly, it hurt. So she sat at the regular table by herself sipping some warm soup.

Meanwhile right outside the cafeteria, Enjolras was freaking out. Jehan and Courfeyrac laughed at their friend while the other chatted. Grantaire watched as Enjolras paced back and forth nervously.

"Dude, you'll be fine. You should be worrying about us." A small smile was exchanged and wasn't gone when Enjolras addressed the Amis.

"The time is here. Let us welcome it. Now let's go get 'em and earn the title 'Weirdest Clique'." Laughter rippled and the excitement was felt. The lights in the cafeteria went off and the Amis got in place. A single light went on as the opening notes of One Direction's 'What Makes You Beautiful' rang out. Enjolras stepped forward and started the song.

'You're insecure. Don't what for. You're turning heads when you walk through the doooor." Combeferre took over the next part.

"Don't need makeup to coverup. Being the way that you are is enooouugh." The rest of the Amis joined in on the chorus. Grantaire and Jehan split up the second verse. While the "Nanas" were going on, Enjolras pulled a shocked and pleased Eponine to her feet and announced to the whole cafeteria,

"We just wanted to say you are beautiful and we love you. Happy Birthdayy Eps!" Feuilly and Madeleine ran into the cafeteria holding a big neon banner reading 'Happy Birthday 'Ponine!' Enjolras took the last bit.

"Baby you light up my world like nobody else. They way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed. But when you smile at the ground, it ain't hard to tell..." The whole Amis finished out the song. Then the group swarmed Eponine, while applause came from the student body.

"Alexander Enjolras!" VP Javert stalked over to the group. "You are coming with me to Principle Valjean's office. NOW!"

**In Principle Valjean's office**

"So let me get this straight. You hacked the electrical grid of the school and embarrassed yourself in front of the entire school, staff included, just to tell some girl that she's beautiful and happy birthday?" There was silence for a few seconds in the office. "That is very kind of you and mighty romantic." Javert's jaw dropped. How could Mr. Valjean be so nice? This boy broke the rules!

"But why did you go to such extremes? For one girl." Enjolras sat up straighter.

"Her name is Eponine, and she is like a ray of sunshine in the darkest reaches of night. She means everything to me. Without her, I'd just be a marble statue. She turned me human. And recently, someone told her that she wasn't pretty or worth our while. We needed to remind her that we loved her and appreciate her." This all was so cute to Valjean. He was under the impression that this generation was really lacking in the creativity department. Not anymore. But the last bit bothered him.

"Who told Eponine that she wasn't pretty?" Cosette often spoke of this Eponine, and she was very polite and a good girl. Now that Valjean knew Enjolras was friends with Eponine, the older man was more understanding of where the boy was coming from.

"Marius Pontmercy. He's a jackass."

"Language, my pupil. Well, I don't see anything wrong here. You may go." Smiling, Alexander Enjolras exited the room. As he closed the door he heard Vajean say to Javert,

"I think my daughter is dating the Pontmercy boy. Hmm. Might have to intervene." Eponine met Enjolras outside the office.

"So?"

"Got off scotch free. Don't think Javert was happy." Eponine giggled.

"Well good. I'd rather not flash the detention monitor. And...thank you. It was a great birthday gift." The girl quickly pecked Enjolras' cheek before taking off. The blond boy had a goofy smile on his face for the rest of the day. It matched his blush.


	17. Chapter 17

**So I have a new nemesis... writer's block. I had no idea what to write until about five seconds ago, so yeah. Here I am.**

Chapter 17: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

"I love Christmas." Jehan trilled inside the decked out cafe. The Les Amis were meeting in their favorite cafe for their daily congregation. School had let out three days prior, and the group was trying to get in some relaxation. Eponine and Enjolras were cuddled together in the corner of the big booth both trying hard not to blush. It had been three weeks since Eponine realized she liked Enjolras, a lot. Since then they were both kind of on edge.

Eponine was afraid she was suffering from unrequited love again. She was not in the mood to get her heart broken again. And besides, it would ruin their friendship. Enjolras wanted to tell her. He really did, but he wanted to make it special. She deserved the effort.

The snow cascaded from the clouds lazily. The chill of the winter wind could not dampen anyone's Christmas mood. Everyone was in the best of spirits, except Grantaire. Abby was in Canada and wouldn't be back for two weeks. To say this disappointed the resident drunkard was an understatement. He had wanted to give her the best Christmas Eve Eve ever. Plans changed.

"So, what's the plan fearless leader? Are we going to start a riot in detention again for freedom when we get back? Or should we protest the prejudice against anything that involves Christ?" Enjolras rolled his eyes at Courfeyrac.

"Actually, I was thinking we should probably relax this time. I mean, we are all still so wound up after midterms, and we don't need any extra stress." This was greeted with a cheer from all. Jehan and Courfeyrac actually got up and danced around the cafe. Combeferre and Bahorel started to sing "Joy to the World" while Cosette(who had dumped Marius), Bossuet, 'Chetta, and Joly did some crazy line dance. Feuilly and Madeleine pulled Eponine and Grantaire to their feet to join in the dance. Enjolras observed his crazy friends. They were truly having fun. It was moments like this that he savored and stored for a rainy day.

The group started to pull other people up so they could dance too. Someone turned on a radio so Combeferre and Bahorel could dance too. Soon Enjolras was the only one sitting. This bothered Eponine. No one was going to sit on their ass while everyone else was having fun on Eponine's watch, not even marble Enjolras. She approached.

"Come on, Enjy. Come dance. Have fun." Enjolras wished he could take her invitation, but he only wanted to dance with her. He put his hand up to decline.

"No thanks." Eponine pursed her lips. Enjolras could almost see the gears turning in her head.

"No choice. BAHOREL!" The strong man came to the side of Eponine. Enjolras could see where this was going and tried to protest.

"Carry Enjolras out to the dance floor please." With little difficulty, the strong man carried Enjolras into the middle of the dancing people. Eponine thanked him than started to dance with Enjolras.

"I needed a partner." The innocent look on her face elicited a chuckled from the cracked statue. With no hesitation Enjolras wrapped his hands around Eponine's, and the pair jumped and danced around the cafe like a bunch of crazy people. The atmosphere was jolly and warm. The entire cafe had turned into a party. A Christmas party. Even Grantaire forgot his sadness. It was indeed beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

**Done. Sorry if it sucks. OMG! I've been listen to Christmas songs on Pandora and "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" just came on!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hi... So I was in the mountains of NY with weird internet connections that didn't always work, so yeah. But here I am.**

**Chapter 18: Twist my arm**

"What would she like?" With two days until Christmas, Enjolras was frantically looking for a present for Eponine. He'd seen tons of little gifts that would be acceptable between friends during his search, but he didn't want to be friends. This present was going to show how much he loved Eponine, so a silly little trinket wouldn't do. It had to be perfect for Eponine deserved only the best.

"May I help you?" A disgruntled looking Marius in a work uniform trudged up to Enjolras. The marble man had to stifle a laugh that came up from his belly at the sight of Marius' scowl. The man looked truly depressed up close. His eyes were dull and had bags under them, and his step had a drag to it.

"I wouldn't do that to you." Even though many thought Enjolras heartless, he knew when it was time to take pity on a man. Marius' eyes brightened in curiosity.

"But you hate me. This would be the perfect revenge." The puzzlement was apparent in the hollow voice. Enjolras put a hand on the shoulder of the boy.

"You've suffered enough for your mistakes." Marius looked down in shame remembering what he had done to Eponine. He hadn't wanted to, but Montparnesse had threatened Cosette if Marius didn't break Eponine's heart. What made it worse was the fact that if Marius told anyone Cosette would be hurt, so he had to hurt Eponine. What ever Monty was planning wouldn't work because Marius knew Enjolras would be there to put Eponine's heart back together. With that confidence, Marius was able to live with himself.

"Thank you Enjolras." A smile was exchanged between the boys and what ever tension was there lifted. They stood for a minute until Marius remembered that Enjolras was looking for something in the small jewelry store.

"So I take it you're looking for something for 'Ponine." A blush dusted the cheeks of the marble man's cheeks. A laugh bubbled inside of Marius; as if he didn't know.

"Yeah, I want to get her something special. I-I-I want to tell her...to tel her I love her." A soft smile made its was to Marius' lips.

"I think I have an idea." The boys made their way to a case of necklaces at the back of the store. In the case were several necklaces with colorful gems. One necklace in the corner caught Enjolras' eye. It was a pink rose surrounded by copper on a copper chain. One look and Enjolras knew it was made to be worn by Eponine.

"I like that one." Marius unlocked the case an handed it to Enjolras while saying smugly,

"I knew you would." The freckled kid rang the necklace up for his friend.

"There you go. Tell me how 'Ponine likes it." Enjolras gave the slightly miserable boy a warm smile.

"I will. Merry Christmas Marius." The boy in question nodded in response. Back to being lonely. Pretending to be busy, Marius didn't watch as Enjolras walked away. That would hurt too much to handle.

"Hey Marius," The boy looked up, "just say sorry. Oh, and Cosette misses you." With that the maybe friend was gone in a flurry of words and snow. A slight smile twisted Marius' lips. Maybe not all was lost. He vowed to call Cosette later, but for now he had to call Eponine.

**Line break**

"Ooh, a red scarf." Across town, Eponine was also looking for a present for Enjolras. She wanted to get him something meaningful, something that showed how much thought she put into it. A vibrant red scarf caught her eye. The store was called Revolution.

"I wouldn't doubt it if Enjolras got all his stuff here." With hope in her heart, the dark eyed beauty slipped into the warm store. It was like a red and black bomb went off in the store. Plaques and flags hung everywhere. Books were stuffed in random places and replica pistols hung on the wall.

"Wow." It was like Enjolras had designed and owed the store. With a determined heart, Eponine set around the store. By the time she had swept the store twice she had the red scarf, a plaque that read 'Build Barricades First, Ask Questions Later', and a copy of Republic by Plato.

"Awesome. These are perfect for Enjolras' rebellious side." The slow employee rang up the gifts in only ten minutes. By the time the check out was complete, Eponine was irked.

"Thank you." Her terse tone betrayed her irritation. So when she shoved open the door and ran out to the streets, her mood only worsened when she saw Montparnesse. He beckoned her over.

"What do you want?" Her tone was colder than the winter wind surrounding them. With an easy smile, the boy replied,

"You. Your dad wants you back." Eponine froze. No way in hell was she going back to her father. She would never return to that nightmare.

"I won't go. You can't make me." A wicked laugh ripped from the slimy teen's lips, chilling Eponine more than the snow falling on her lashes.

"I know, but f you ever want to see 'Zelma, Gavroche, or that little bitch Cosette again, you'll come with me." Once the words registered in the girl's brain, fear closed her throat.

"Y-You have Gav', 'Zelm, and 'Sette? No, that's impossible."

"Oh really? Look. Get the blonde one" Montparnesse held out his iPhone with FaceTime on. The screen showed a beaten and bruised Azelma, a frightened Cosette hovering over the two Thenradier children, and a bound and gagged Gavroche. A man came onscreen and yanked Cosette by her hair away from the children and proceeded to slap her across the cheeks.

"NO!" Eponine stumbled back. "Leave them alone." Those were fighting words. Eponine planted her feet in a defensive stance. Montparnesse clicked his tongue.

"No, no, no. Every second you resist is another second these three get punished." Eponine desperately wanted to run until it was all over. She wanted to hide from the world and forget everything. But she couldn't. She had to protect them. Even with her life if necessary. Dropping her stance, Eponine slowly moved to Montparnesse.

"Fine. You win. I'll go with you." A wicked smile twisted the lips of the sleazy dandy.

"Stop. She gave in." With a click, the creep ended the conversation. The man grabbed Eponine and shoved her in the back of the car he had brought. He climbed in the after her, closing the door behind him.

"Kiss me." Eponine looked straight ahead.

"No." Put out, Montparnesse raised the phone in front of her eyes. She sighed. "Fine." As she turned, the creeper pressed her to the side of the car, then stole her lips. It wasn't the best kiss as Eponine wasn't into it. She beat on Montparnesse's chest for she needed air. The disappointed pulled away.

"You're no fun." Then he shoved his mouth on hers and stuck his tongue into the familiar space. Eponine started to battle him. She eventually shoved him off. She looked away while her breath heaved. Realizing she wasn't going to be any fun, Montparnesse took the chloroform soaked rag from his coat pocket. He crept up to her, reached around her body, and pressed the rag to her face. She struggled for a few seconds, wriggling fiercely, then went limp. Brief and dirty thoughts crossed the boy's mind, but he knew that it wouldn't be any good. He shimmied up to the front and started the ignition. He would claim his prize later. That is, if there was anything left after Mr. Thenradier was done with her. He promised hurt and that man never broke his promises.


End file.
